Claimant v Flixmedia Ltd

The respondent unilaterally changed the claimant's job title from Product Manager to Junior Product Manager, effective from September 2022, characterising her April 2021 promotion as a 'mistake'. This change to a contractual term was sufficiently serious to constitute a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence, effectively demoting her as part of a process ostensibly designed to increase her salary, and the claimant resigned promptly in response.

The tribunal found the claimant's work and her comparator's (Liam Garvin) were broadly similar and that differences in their work were not of practical importance. However, the respondent successfully established a material factor defence: the genuine need to recruit someone with specific experience, knowledge of data products, and market research background justified the pay difference. The tribunal held that once the employer's reason was genuine and causative, it need not be objectively warranted in all respects.

The respondent failed to discharge the burden of proving that the decision not to invite the claimant to the quarterly roadmap meeting on 3 August 2022 was unconnected to her protected act (raising a grievance about equal pay). Evidence indicated that the claimant's attempt to 'level' herself with her comparator influenced the decision to exclude her from a meeting she would previously have attended.

The claimant withdrew her claims of direct and indirect sex discrimination at the hearing.

The claimant withdrew her claims of direct and indirect sex discrimination at the hearing.

The claimant withdrew her claims of discrimination because of race at the hearing.

The claimant withdrew her claims of discrimination because of religious beliefs at the hearing.