HM Prison Service and others v Ibimidun; Ibimidun v HM Prison Service and others EAT/0408/07 & EAT/0517/07

race discrimination | victimisation | unfair dismissal

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an employee who was dismissed when he brought tribunal proceedings in order to harass his employer, rather than to receive compensation, was not protected by the victimisation provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976.

Mr Ibimidun, a black man of Nigerian origin, worked for the Prison Service. During his employment, he brought various claims, some of which succeeded, but some of which were dismissed as having no reasonable prospect of success. Costs orders totalling £6,750 were made against him in relation to his claims. When Mr Ibimidun was dismissed, an employment tribunal upheld his claim that he had been victimised contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976, section 2 and unfairly dismissed.

The EAT overturned the tribunal's decision. In order to succeed in his victimisation claim, Mr Ibimidun had to show that he had been less favourably treated by reason of the fact that he had done the protected act of bringing tribunal proceedings. In this case, the reason for the less favourable treatment was not simply that Mr Ibimidun had brought a tribunal claim, but that he had brought it with the sole purpose of harassing the Prison Service and some of its employees. The Race Relations Act 1976, section 2 is designed to protect bona fide claims, not claims brought with a view to harassing the respondents.

The EAT also disagreed with the tribunal's unfair dismissal finding. The employer had a genuine belief that it had a potentially fair reason for dismissal, namely Mr Ibimidun's conduct in bringing tribunal proceedings with the sole purpose of harassing the employer and its employees. In addition, the employer, after investigating the issue, had reasonable grounds for its belief.

Case transcript of HM Prison Service and others v Ibimidun; Ibimidun v HM Prison Service and others (Microsoft Word format, 101K) (on the EAT website)

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