Burden of proof

Case 10: The facts

Mr Jatto, a black African, was offered a job as a solicitor subject to satisfactory references. A previous employer failed to provide a reference and his prospective employer discovered this was because any reference they did provide would not be good. The firm withdrew their offer. Jatto claimed the firm’s insistence on making the offer conditional on satisfactory references was on grounds of his race.

The ruling

The EAT held that Jatto had not provided any evidence for race discrimination. There was no indication that his employers would have treated anyone of another ethnic origin any differently. The EAT criticised the firm’s failure to respond to his race discrimination questionnaire, but said that some of this would have been of no relevance as questions about the number of black solicitors employed, for example, were not appropriate given that the only reason the job offer was withdrawn was the absence of satisfactory references. The EAT noted that failing to reply to a questionnaire is not a breach of the law.