United Kingdom Employment Appeal Tribunal

APPEARANCES

 

For the Appellants	MR P GREEN (of Counsel) Instructed by: Mark Taylor & Co. The Third Floor Stamford Bridge London SW6 1HS


 


HIS HONOUR JUDGE SMITH QC

1. We accept that it is arguable that there may be an error in law in the approach which the Employment Tribunal took to the circumstances in which it is proper for an Employment Tribunal to draw inferences of racial discrimination for the reasons that have been argued before us today. There may be an arguable ground on that basis and there may be an arguable ground relating to the unusually expressed finding in paragraph 35 of the decision containing the assertion that Mr Lowery had stereotypical assumptions about Africans, it may be that that finding can legitimately be subjected to a criticism as displaying an erroneous approach.
2. So for those reasons we allow the matter to go forward to a full appeal. In addition, and although it is very unusual to allow matters to proceed to a full hearing on the amount of the compensation, here again we consider that there are arguable grounds for an objection on point of law on the basis that there were deficiencies in the Employment Tribunal's reasoning relating to the award for injuries to feelings and the rather substantial award for loss of salary.
3. We allow the matter to proceed to a full hearing on those matters which are properly set out in the Notice of Appeal. There is no application for notes of evidence, skeleton arguments should be exchanged in the usual way, and a bundle of documents should be prepared for the Employment Appeal Tribunal. We would put the matter into category C with a time estimate of half a day.