One current and one former employee of London and Quadrant Housing Trust (L&Q) have received a financial settlement totalling £95,000, in a race discrimination case supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
An employment tribunal found that Natalie James and Joanna Saine were both discriminated against by their employer when they were overlooked for promotions.
L&Q originally advertised three vacancies. Of the six internal candidates, three were white and three black (and/or black/white mixed). Both successful candidates were white, with L&Q deciding to re-advertise the third vacancy externally, regardless of the interview process finding the three black candidates were not "not appointable".
L&Q failed to properly consider Ms James and Ms Saine for leadership positions, basing the decisions not to appoint on subjective views.
In upholding their complaints of race discrimination, the Employment Tribunal found that the hiring manager did not record all of the information provided by Ms James and Ms Saine during their interviews, while the HR Recruitment Advisor “deferred to the hiring manager due to her “better technical knowledge” and “other requirements for the role”.
The tribunal found that the hiring manager’s appointments were made on a subjective view of who would “fit in”, rather than objectively considering applicants qualifications and suitability for the job. The tribunal stated, “basing recruitment decisions on subjective views, or gut feelings, increases the risk of stereotypes and unconscious bias coming into play”.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission provided funding for both cases.
Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said:
“No one should be denied career progression because of their race.
“Employers have a responsibility to ensure their interview processes are fair and that they have systems in place to prevent discrimination from occurring.
“Poor recruitment practices at L&Q meant that the organisation lost decades of experience from their workforce, and their handling of the situation has negatively impacted Natalie and Joanna’s health and future careers.
“As Britain’s equality watchdog, we will continue to use our unique powers to uphold the law and prevent discrimination in the workplace.”
Natalie James said:
“I suspected that the recruitment decision had been discriminatory as there was no conceivable explanation in my mind as to why all three black candidates had been rejected.
“It was deeply upsetting to think that I had been denied a fair opportunity for a promotion because of my race.
“It has deeply impacted on my mental and physical health. The stress of suffering discrimination and then everything that flowed from that was completely overwhelming.
“I would like to thank the EHRC for their support and for their work to ensure companies like L&Q are held to account.”
Joanna Saine said:
“It felt so obvious to me that the reason why I had not been promoted was because of my race. Instead, I was made to feel throughout the grievance process as though I was bitter and that I didn’t get the job because I was not good enough.
“I suffer from a number of medical conditions which have been aggravated by the stress caused. I felt hopeless and like I was not good enough to take the next step in my career.
“Support from the EHRC has meant it has been confirmed L&Q treated me unfairly. I hope from sharing my experience it will help prevent others from having similar experiences.”
David Stephenson of Doughty Street Chambers (instructed by Workwise Legal LLP), who represented Ms James and Ms Saine, said:
"Support for race discrimination cases is needed more than ever. The recent riots are indicative of the turbulent and potentially dangerous times in which we find ourselves.
"The EHRC’s support has been a lifeline for so many vulnerable clients who, like Natalie and Joanna, are subjected to racial discrimination and stripped of their mental and physical well-being.”
The tribunal awarded Ms James and Ms Saine £64k and just under £31k respectively.
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