Employment Appeal Tribunal Remits University of Aberdeen Case Following Fabricated Email Admission
The EAT has ordered a partial retrial after the University of Aberdeen admitted that an email used during recruitment proceedings was fabricated.
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EAT Rules on Employment Tribunal Strike Out
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has partially upheld an appeal by Mr Ray Joseph against the University of Aberdeen. The case concerns an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision to strike out the claimant's entire discrimination claim, a decision made despite the respondent admitting it had fabricated one email in a chain of correspondence.
Lady Haldane, presiding over the appeal, confirmed that the respondent conceded it was an error to strike out the direct discrimination claim predicated on the circumstances surrounding the altered email. The matter will now be remitted to the same tribunal to determine if the retraction or lapsing of the job offer constituted direct discrimination.
Application to Join LTA Refused
The appellant also challenged the tribunal's refusal to join the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) as a party to the proceedings. Mr Joseph argued that the LTA acted as a principal, with the university serving as its agent, under section 109 of the Equality Act 2010. He contended that the LTA created the role and provided significant funding.
However, the EAT rejected this ground of appeal. Lady Haldane noted that the agency argument was not ventilated at the initial tribunal hearing. Furthermore, the court found no evidence to satisfy the legal criteria for a principal and agent relationship. As the only remaining live claim relates to direct discrimination, the request to involve the LTA was deemed misconceived.
The case will return to the original tribunal to ensure an efficient and expedient resolution of the remaining direct discrimination complaint.
Read the entire judgment here: Joseph v The University of Aberdeen [2026] EAT 113
