Trade union discrimination

Case 1: the facts

Driver Mr Turner was dismissed after refusing to drive a particular route because it was the third time out of six that he was given a long route (drivers were free to go home when they had finished their deliveries). An employment tribunal found he had been dismissed because he was a member of a trade union and in particular because he had sought union representation at his disciplinary and appeal hearings.

The ruling

The EAT said an employment tribunal was entitled to draw an inference of trade union discrimination in the absence of hard facts, in the same way as it can in other types of discrimination claims. However, the EAT said in this case the evidence was “too flimsy” without proper analysis. Turner’s case was sent to a different tribunal for rehearing.