Claimant v Arts Council England

The tribunal found that the first respondent breached the implied term of trust and confidence by: instigating a formal disciplinary process without informal resolution via line manager despite the misconduct not being sufficiently serious to merit suspension or dismissal; responding dismissively to the claimant's legitimate concerns about racial bias and conflict of interest; refusing to properly consider the claimant's Dignity at Work complaint before proceeding with the disciplinary; Mr Ashcroft's threatening email of 23 June 2022 accusing her of obstruction when she was asserting policy rights; failure to pause the investigation meeting to consider her statements raising procedural concerns; and proceeding to a disciplinary hearing based on a flawed investigation report. The breach occurred by 23 June 2022 at the latest. The claimant resigned in response to this breach and did not affirm the contract.

The claimant's claim failed at the first hurdle because the tribunal found she had not done a protected act. Her comment on the spreadsheet expressing support for trans and non-binary colleagues was not specific enough to amount to an allegation of contravention of the Equality Act 2010 under s.27(2)(d), as it named no specific individuals and made no specific allegations. It also did not fall within the catch-all category in s.27(2)(c) as there was insufficient connection to the Equality Act 2010 — it was an expression of support rather than something done 'by reference to' the Act with sufficient formality, even taking a purposive approach. No protected act meant the victimisation claim could not succeed.