Employment Appeal Tribunal Upholds Decision Against Race Discrimination and Victimisation Claims
An Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld a prior ruling, rejecting claims of race discrimination and victimisation brought by a former employee.
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has dismissed an appeal lodged by a former employee, Mr M Nowak, against Evtec Aluminium Ltd. The appeal challenged decisions made by an Employment Tribunal concerning claims of direct race discrimination and victimisation.
Tribunal Finds No Error in Original Decision
Mr Nowak, a Polish national, had brought several complaints against his former employer, Evtec Aluminium Ltd. These included allegations of direct race discrimination by his line manager, Mr Mather, and claims of victimisation related to his handling of grievances. The original Employment Tribunal had dismissed all of Mr Nowak's complaints.
In its judgment, the EAT found that the initial tribunal had not erred in its reasoning when dismissing the claims. The grounds of appeal, which argued that the tribunal had misunderstood the nature of workplace discrimination and had wrongly applied legal tests, were not upheld.
Key Issues Addressed
The EAT specifically considered arguments relating to how the tribunal assessed the evidence of alleged mistreatment by Mr Mather. Mr Nowak's representatives contended that the tribunal's reasoning, which questioned why mistreatment had not occurred earlier or affected other Polish colleagues, was flawed. However, the EAT determined that the tribunal had properly considered the factual context and evidence presented, rather than engaging in abstract reasoning.
Further grounds of appeal related to the handling of a collective grievance concerning Friday break entitlements. The tribunal had previously ruled that there was no distinct complaint under the Working Time Regulations 1998, and that an application to amend the claim to include such a complaint was correctly refused. The EAT agreed with this assessment, noting that the initial claims had been framed as race discrimination and victimisation, and no separate Working Time Regulations complaint had been formally raised until much later.
The EAT also examined the claimant's allegations of victimisation concerning the handling of his grievances. The tribunal had concluded that while the investigation into some grievances may have been inadequate, there was no evidence to suggest this was due to the grievance being about discrimination or because the claimant was Polish. The EAT found no error in this conclusion.
Conclusion of the Appeal
Ultimately, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found no substantial grounds to overturn the original tribunal's decision. The appeal was dismissed, with the EAT affirming the tribunal's careful consideration of the facts and application of the law to Mr Nowak's claims.
Read the entire judgment here: Mr M Nowak v Evtec Aluminium Ltd [2026] EAT 26.pdf
