A council has requested a second appeal over an employment tribunal that found it had racially discriminated against an employee.
Leicester City Council sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal after its initial challenge to the Employment Appeal Tribunal was dismissed last month.
The local authority is appealing a ruling by an employment tribunal in April 2023, which found it had racially discriminated against a social worker.
The council employee, a British national of Indian origin, was made the subject of a disciplinary investigation by the authority in January 2021 after complaints were made against her.
But the tribunal found there was ‘nothing of substance’ to start a disciplinary process, adding the senior manager involved would have been aware of this as the investigation ‘did not set out any identifiable acts of misconduct’.
The tribunal found ‘race played a part’ in decisions made by the manager and said there was ‘no other credible explanation’.
Leicester City Council has lodged paperwork for a second appeal at the Court of Appeal and is waiting to hear about the next steps.
