Employment Appeal Tribunal Overturns Discrimination Ruling Against London Ambulance Service
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has quashed a previous discrimination judgment against London Ambulance Service, ruling the tribunal made significant legal and logical errors.
• public
Tribunal Decision Quashed on Appeal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has overturned a majority decision that previously found London Ambulance Service NHS Trust liable for direct discrimination. The case involved an employee, Mr Ricky Garrett, who claimed he faced discrimination due to his beliefs regarding systemic racism and his race.
Background of the Dispute
Mr Garrett, an emergency ambulance crew member, faced disciplinary action in 2020 following a series of incidents, including a heated argument with a colleague and comments made in the workplace concerning the Black Lives Matter movement and systemic racism. The Trust initiated a disciplinary process, which ultimately led to a final written warning and requirements for further training.
The original employment tribunal had found in favour of Mr Garrett, concluding that his rejection of the concept of systemic racism was a manifestation of a protected philosophical belief. The majority ruled that the Trust’s disciplinary actions, including the failure to interview a specific witness and the requirement for reflective practice, amounted to direct discrimination.
Findings of the EAT
His Honour Judge Auerbach, presiding over the appeal, identified fundamental flaws in the original tribunal’s reasoning. The EAT ruled that the tribunal erred in concluding that the claimant's descriptive belief about systemic racism was a manifestation of his normative belief in equal treatment.
The judgment highlighted that the tribunal failed to engage with the respondent’s non-discriminatory explanations for its actions. Specifically, the EAT found that the decision to limit the investigation and impose disciplinary sanctions was based on the offensive manner in which the claimant expressed his views, rather than the content of the beliefs themselves. Consequently, the finding of direct race discrimination was deemed perverse, as there was no evidence to support the inference that the claimant’s race influenced the outcome.
Conclusion
Finding that the only proper conclusion was to dismiss the claims, the EAT substituted its own decision. All complaints of direct discrimination have been quashed, and there will be no remission to the original tribunal.
Read the entire judgment here: London Ambulance Service NHS Trust v Garrett [2026] EAT 77
