More About Race

Last week I wrote about race discrimination.  It goes without saying that the Race Relations Act protects everyone not just people from ethnic minorities.  However, I do sometimes wonder whether there is enough common sense in the writing and interpretation of our laws.

Let’s see what you think about a recent case. Mr Redfearn is white and was employed by West Yorkshire Transport as a bus driver and escort for children and adults with special needs.  He was elected as a councillor for the BNP, an organisation that UNISON described in a letter to West Yorkshire Transport as having an “overt and racist/fascist agenda”.  70% to 80% of the employer’s passengers were of Asian origin, as were 35% of its staff.

Mr Redfearn was dismissed on grounds of health and safety.  The employer said amongst other things that it was afraid of violence and/or anger from its employees and it was also concerned that Asians being driven by Mr Redfearn would be fearful knowing of his BNP membership.

BNP membership is, perhaps not surprisingly, open to “whites only” and according to its constitution the organisation is “wholly opposed to any form of racial integration between British and non-European peoples.  It is therefore committed to stemming and reversing the tide of non-white immigration”.  So you might think it was reasonable of the employer to consider that Mr Redfearn’s BNP membership could have an effect on its Asian staff.  As a result, it seems to me that West Yorkshire Transport’s decision to dismiss Mr Redfearn was fair.

As Mr Redfearn hadn’t been employed for a year, he could not bring a claim of unfair dismissal and so he brought a claim under the Race Relations Act, claiming that he had been discriminated against because he was white.

He lost his claim in the Employment Tribunal and so appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (the “EAT”).  The EAT decided that Mr Redfearn had been dismissed “on racial grounds” because the employer’s decision to dismiss Mr Redfearn was influenced by questions of race.

I am sure Mr Redfearn would disagree but it seems to me that interpreting race discrimination so widely as to protect people who openly express racist views simply does not make sense.

But as I climb down from my soap-box, it is worth pointing out that sometimes the courts do get it right.

Mr Owens is white and was employed as a manager of an amusement centre.  He was told to keep young blacks out of the amusement centre and was dismissed when he refused to do this.

Although Mr Owens was not dismissed because of his race, it was held by the EAT that his dismissal was on racial grounds and that he had a claim for compensation.

In a country genuinely committed to equality I think this must be the right decision.

Published 27/09/2006.