Surge In Employment Tribunal Claims For Race Discrimination

According to an ACAS report, the number of claims for race discrimination rose significantly last year.

There were 3,641 Employment Tribunal claims for race discrimination in 2020 (compared to 2,464 in 2019). In the period 1st January to 30th June 2021, there have been 1,734 claims so it looks likely that the level of cases will be maintained.

Why has there been an increase in Employment Tribunal claims for race discrimination?

We can only speculate as to what has caused this increase in claims but we would expect that this does not denote an increase in discrimination in the workplace but more likely increased identification of the issue and more people raising their complaints formally.

This could be as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement bringing conversations about race, prejudice and discrimination to the fore and the media coverage that this has received.

There have also been concerns throughout the pandemic about the treatment of ethnic minorities in the workplace and the greater risk posed by Covid-19 to members of those communities.

Why employers need to ensure that their equality policy and  training framework is up to date and fit for purpose

Most employers are well aware of the benefits of a diverse workforce and of having an inclusive culture; not just in terms of staff morale but also for the organisation’s performance across the board.

Many employers reviewed their approach to diversity in light of Black Lives Matter but our advice would be to review this regularly and to make sure that your equality policy and your training framework is up to date and fit for purpose.

Employers are often held to be liable for their employees and managers who discriminate or harass colleagues on the grounds of race and employers will need to show that they have taken a wide range of steps in order to prevent this from happening in order for an Employment Tribunal to sympathise with their position.  As a minimum, employers will need to show that they have a regularly reviewed policy that staff are aware of and that they train staff regularly on diversity issues. It will also be helpful to demonstrate a culture of inclusivity and openness.

An employer’s grievance policy is likely to be the first port of call for any employee concerned about discrimination issues in the workplace and so these will also benefit from a review.

Many Tribunal cases see employers inadvertently aggravating an employee’s concerns in their failure to handle complaints about race discrimination sensitively, appropriately and promptly. We would recommend that employers take legal advice at the early stages of dealing with any issues.