Court penalises employers for poor references following discrimination complaints
26 February 2014
Employers who give poor references to former employees because they have complained of discrimination will be liable to pay compensation, the Court of Appeal has ruled today.
Wed, 26 Feb 2014Employers who give poor references to former employees because they have complained of discrimination will be liable to pay compensation, the Court of Appeal has ruled today.
The case before the Court of Appeal involved car body repairer Pat Jessemey, who had brought proceedings for unfair dismissal and age discrimination against Rowstock Ltd in Didcot, Oxfordshire after the car sales and repair business dismissed him. Jessemey was aged over 65.
Jessemey went to an employment agency for help in getting another position. [Editor’s note: at press deadlines, the recruitment agency’s identity was not available.] However, a director from his former firm gave him a bad reference because of the discrimination complaint. Jessemey then filed another claim, alleging victimisation contrary to the Equality Act 2010.
An Employment Tribunal upheld the claims of age discrimination and unfair dismissal, and awarded Jessemey nearly £25k in compensation. However, the Tribunal said that ‘post-employment victimisation’ was not prohibited by the Equality Action 2010, although at the same time it accepted this was the reason for the poor reference. An Employment Appeal Tribunal reached the same conclusion.
Supporting Jessemey’s case, the Equality and Human Rights Commission argued that this was an incorrect interpretation of equality law and was not compatible with European Union legislation which prohibits post-employment victimisation.
The Court concluded that it was clear that there had been an intention to forbid post-relationship victimisation and that the failure to do so was a mistake. The claim will now return to the Employment Tribunal for the assessment of compensation.
In a press statement, Equality and Human Rights Commission legal director Wendy Hewitt said, “The fact that this claim has been successful means that it is clear that this protection also applies to former relationships in education, services, public functions and associations.”
The case before the Court of Appeal involved car body repairer Pat Jessemey, who had brought proceedings for unfair dismissal and age discrimination against Rowstock Ltd in Didcot, Oxfordshire after the car sales and repair business dismissed him. Jessemey was aged over 65.
Jessemey went to an employment agency for help in getting another position. [Editor’s note: at press deadlines, the recruitment agency’s identity was not available.] However, a director from his former firm gave him a bad reference because of the discrimination complaint. Jessemey then filed another claim, alleging victimisation contrary to the Equality Act 2010.
An Employment Tribunal upheld the claims of age discrimination and unfair dismissal, and awarded Jessemey nearly £25k in compensation. However, the Tribunal said that ‘post-employment victimisation’ was not prohibited by the Equality Action 2010, although at the same time it accepted this was the reason for the poor reference. An Employment Appeal Tribunal reached the same conclusion.
Supporting Jessemey’s case, the Equality and Human Rights Commission argued that this was an incorrect interpretation of equality law and was not compatible with European Union legislation which prohibits post-employment victimisation.
The Court concluded that it was clear that there had been an intention to forbid post-relationship victimisation and that the failure to do so was a mistake. The claim will now return to the Employment Tribunal for the assessment of compensation.
In a press statement, Equality and Human Rights Commission legal director Wendy Hewitt said, “The fact that this claim has been successful means that it is clear that this protection also applies to former relationships in education, services, public functions and associations.”
