Civil servants win race and age bias cases


Dozens of civil servants have won compensation from the Home Office after being discriminated against because of their race or age. 


Together the 47 individuals, supported by the Prospect and PCS civil service unions, secured more than £1 million after the Home Office settled at the last minute.


The case centred round the Home Office’s use of a Core Skills Assessment (CSA) for determining promotion. A tribunal in 2012 had already found the process to be discriminatory in the case of one Prospect member, Graham Dean, after seeing evidence that a disproportionate number of black and minority ethnic and older workers failed the assessment. Dean was subsequently promoted and the CSA was changed, but the change wasn’t applied to the rest of the staff affected.


So the two unions presented 47 further test cases, which were resisted by the Home Office despite the earlier ruling. Their case went all the way to the Supreme Court.


The cases were successful in the Supreme Court and were sent back to the employment tribunal. After a couple of days of the hearing the Home Office settled, paying the 47 staff £22,000 each.


https://www.civilserviceworld.com/articles/news/home-office-pays-%C2%A31m-49-civil-servants-discrimination-case

https://www.prospect.org.uk/news/id/2019/March/6/Seven-year-legal-battle-brings-discrimination-victory-dozens-civil-servants