Claimant v JAF Foods Company Ltd

The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that Dr Farzana told him she did not like or want to employ Pakistani people. This comment was captured in a contemporaneous email. The tribunal found this was direct race discrimination—Dr Farzana would not have made the comment to a non-Pakistani person. The fact that Dr Farzana herself is Pakistani does not prevent her discriminating against others of the same race.

The claimant was dismissed in the same telephone call in which Dr Farzana stated she did not wish to employ Pakistani people. The tribunal found the claimant satisfied the burden of proof: the obvious inference was that race was the reason for dismissal. The respondent failed to provide an alternative explanation, and the claim proceeded undefended. The tribunal rejected the argument that employing another Pakistani employee precluded a finding of discrimination.

The tribunal found the claimant was entitled to £2,000 per month for the first month of employment, then £3,000 per month thereafter, based on oral agreement and the written contract of employment dated 15 February 2023. The respondent paid only £2,000 per month throughout employment. The tribunal calculated unauthorised deductions totalling £7,123.10 gross for the period from March 2023 to termination on 20 October 2023.

The unfair dismissal claim was struck out because the claimant lacked the necessary qualifying service (employment for less than two years).