Employment Appeal Tribunal rules that remark about an employee being "Polish but nice" was not harassment

In Quality Solicitors v. Tunstall, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) set aside the tribunal's finding of harassment and allowed the appeal. It found that the tribunal had misdirected itself in law by failing to address whether the comment had violated the dignity of the claimant, or created...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Employers' Law 2014-11, p.7
Main Authors: Almond, Helen, Cousin, Nigel, Davies, Victoria, Naylor, Iain, Nealey, Andrew
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Employment
Industrial tribunals
Jurisdiction
Labor law
Military tribunals
Racial harassment
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In Quality Solicitors v. Tunstall, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) set aside the tribunal's finding of harassment and allowed the appeal. It found that the tribunal had misdirected itself in law by failing to address whether the comment had violated the dignity of the claimant, or created an "intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment". Referring to Grant v HM Land Registry, the EAT emphasised the importance of these words as an "important control to prevent trivial acts causing minor upsets being caught by the concept of harassment". The EAT also found that the tribunal had failed to address to any significant extent whether or not it was reasonable for the statement to have had the alleged effect on the claimant.
ISSN:1364-9493