Nicola Blackwell alleged that her female manager Varsha Kapoor was targeting her by keeping her out of company meetings and speaking about her in Hindi to a colleague.
She made an informal complaint that Kapoor was discriminating against her on the basis of her race, and she soon noticed her workload had begun to increase.
Later, Blackwell was dismissed due to a “lack of care and attention” in her work. The tribunal ruled that Blackwell was victimised as she made a complaint.
“Being ignored and excluded are forms of bullying and, as this case demonstrates, can also be victimisation,” Tina Chandler, head of employment law at Wright Hassall, told HR magazine.
“Employers must understand that employees have a right to raise grievances without fear of retaliation.
“No organisation should discourage staff from speaking up, and all employers must have a clear, accessible grievance policy. Managers and HR professionals must be familiar with the process.”
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Blackwell started working as a payroll executive at Smart Tax and Accountancy in August 2021. She worked mostly remotely.
Blackwell told the tribunal that, from September, her manager (Kapoor) and a colleague were shutting her out of Teams calls.
In October, Ashwin Juneja, the company boss who hired Blackwell, called her to say she had successfully passed her probation.
On the call, Blackwell complained to him about Kapoor’s manner, saying she was not happy about it as Kapoor could be quite abrupt with her.
Juneja told her that he would speak to Kapoor about it, however Blackwell did not know at the time that Kapoor was Juneja’s mother.
Blackwell told the tribunal that after she made this complaint, her relationship with Kapoor deteriorated.
On 30 November, Blackwell and Kapoor were on a call. Blackwell told the tribunal that she believed she was either removed or excluded from the Teams call, but the tribunal accepted Kapoor’s evidence that this was not the case and that Blackwell had been put on hold while Kapoor took another call.
Blackwell then made an informal complaint to the company’s director that Kapoor’s treatment of her was race-related. She also said that Kapoor had wrongly filed her PAYE submissions to HMRC.
On the same day as she raised this concern, Blackwell lost access to the company PAYE system. Blackwell blamed Kapoor, who denied it, but the tribunal ruled it was “more likely than not” that Kapoor intentionally removed her access.
On 3 November, Juneja called Blackwell to say he was investigating her grievance. Blackwell claimed he said to her “racial discrimination is an extremely bold statement to make”.
In January he notified her that the investigation had dismissed her grievance. Juneja also criticised Blackwell’s conduct and performance, saying that she had made numerous repeated mistakes with payrolls.
Blackwell told the tribunal she noticed her workload begin to increase from that point on. Judge Cowx ruled that this treatment “was most likely caused by a deterioration in the relationship between [Kapoor] and [Blackwell] as a result of that complaint”.
Kapoor suggested that Blackwell should undergo more training. Later, Blackwell told the tribunal that she heard Kapoor and a colleague talking about her in Hindi.
Blackwell asserted that she felt she continued to be ignored on Teams calls. On 2 February, she submitted a formal grievance of race discrimination against Kapoor, which the company once again dismissed.
In March, Blackwell was called into a disciplinary hearing and was dismissed due to a "lack of due care and attention" in her work.
However, the tribunal claimed this excuse was “unconvincing”.
Blackwell told the tribunal she had been subjected to direct race discrimination and harassment, victimisation and unlawful deduction of wages. The tribunal dismissed all claims other than the victimisation claim, which it found to be successful.
Judge Cowx said: “'The motivation behind [Blackwell's] dismissal was the personality clash between herself and [Kapoor], and the complaints made by [Blackwell] about [Kapoor].
“The tribunal found that [Blackwell] was dismissed because she had made complaints of racial discrimination against [Kapoor].”
Blackwell was awarded £41,181.58 for injury to feelings and financial loss.
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HR should prevent employees who raise complaints from being victimised, by creating distance between them and the subject of their complaints, according to David Lormier, employment partner at law firm Lewis Silkin.
Speaking to HR magazine, he said: “Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for managers to take serious complaints of discrimination personally, and to lash out in response.
“While employers cannot always prevent these behaviours, they can take sensible practical steps to reduce the likelihood of claims arising, including creating distance between those who make complaints and those who are the subject of them.”
Policies and training around DEI and victimisation could prevent employers experiencing similar cases, Rachel Phillips, associate at law firm Mills and Reeve, added.
She told HR magazine: “To avoid similar instances of discrimination, employers should implement meaningful diversity and inclusion training across the business, emphasising the importance of respectful and non-discriminatory behaviour.
“Establishing a zero-tolerance policy for retaliation and ensuring all employees are aware of their rights and the support available to them can help create a more inclusive workplace.”