Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Case round-up

by Personnel Today 28 Jan 2003
by Personnel Today 28 Jan 2003

This week’s case round-up

Additional compensation
Singh v University Hospital NHS Trust EAT 1409/01

Singh, a hospital porter, was absent from work for an extended period
following surgery. On his return to work, however, he had a number of
altercations with his manager, which Singh believed to be racially motivated. A
tribunal upheld his subsequent claim of race discrimination.

When considering appropriate compensation, however, although the tribunal
awarded Singh lost earnings and compensation for injury to feelings it declined
to award him additional, aggravated damages. The Employment Appeal Tribunal
rejected his appeal, but clarified the principles upon which tribunals should
rely when considering whether aggravated compensation is appropriate:

– It can be appropriate in discrimination cases

– It is only ever relevant where the discriminator has acted in a
high-handed, malicious, insulting or oppressive manner. Stress or injury to the
victim is not, of itself, sufficient

– The tribunal will need to determine whether conduct meets the above
criteria on the individual facts of the case

– Aggravated compensation may be included in awards for injury to feelings
or be dealt with separately. It is not dictated by the level or category of
injury to feelings awards

– The award should be compensatory and not punitive

Can a competitive interview be discrimitary?
Archibald v Fife Council, EATS/0025/02

For a number of years, Archibald worked at the council as a road sweeper, a
grade 1 position. Following surgery, however, she had mobility difficulties and
was deemed ‘disabled’ within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act
1995. She could not continue in a road sweeper role.

Despite having undertaken a number of administrative courses during her
sickness absence, the alternative, sedentary posts for which Archibald put
herself forward at the council, were all of higher grades. She also lacked
relevant clerical experience. As a result, after in excess of 100 internal
applications, Archibald had not secured an alternative position. She
accordingly brought a tribunal claim against the council alleging that, as a
disabled person, the council failed to make reasonable adjustments for her
disability by subjecting her to competitive interview.

Both the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, disagreed,
however. While insisting that competitive interviews fell within an
‘arrangement’ for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and
could potentially be discriminatory, here it was not. All job applicants were
subjected to the same process. The council was justified in wanting to obtain
the best person for the relevant job and had approached the selection process
in a fair and even-handed manner.

Personnel Today
Personnel Today

Personnel Today articles are written by an expert team of award-winning journalists who have been covering HR and L&D for many years. Some of our content is attributed to "Personnel Today" for a number of reasons, including: when numerous authors are associated with writing or editing a piece; or when the author is unknown (particularly for older articles).

previous post
Met targets Chinese New Year for recruitment drive
next post
Review recommends role for HR on boards

You may also like

Three Suggestions Til At Spille Sikkert

9 Aug 2022

Barrister wins gender critical belief discrimination claim

27 Jul 2022

‘Patchy’ mental health services failing ethnic minority communities

11 Jul 2022

Global study highlights hypertension treatment failings

8 Jul 2022

NICE sets out new guideline on managing depression

8 Jul 2022

Half of employees struggle to switch off on...

8 Jul 2022

Five steps for organisations across the globe to...

8 Jun 2022

The Search for Talent: Six Major Employer Pitfalls

24 May 2022

Grants scheme set up to support women’s health...

16 May 2022

How music can help to ease anxiety at...

9 May 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+