Injury to feelings

Case 4: The facts

Mr Essa was subjected to a racially abusive comment at work that caused him immense stress. He complained but nothing was done and he continued to be the object of abuse. As a result he walked out early one day. He was then disciplined in his absence and given a final written warning, although initially he was not informed that this had been done. Essa claimed race discrimination and the tribunal accepted the claim. It then had to go on to assess his compensation. The main area of contention was whether he could receive payment for injury to feelings. His employers protested that they could not have foreseen that his health would be so badly affected by the abuse.

The ruling

The EAT held that the fact that the damage might not be reasonably foreseeable was not the test for assessing whether compensation was due to the employee. It held that the Race Relations Act 1976 imposed a strict liability on employers who were responsible for any damage caused to the employee by discrimination. It was enough for the employee to show that the damage had been caused.

* Essa v Laing [2003] IRLR 346