Race
[ch 7: page 202]Section 9, EA 10 says that “race” includes colour (for example, black or white); nationality (for example, British or French); and ethnic or national origins (for example, Roma or Irish travellers). This is not an exhaustive list.
A racial group can comprise one or more racial groups, for example, “black Britons” or “south Asians”. There can also be a group defined by exclusion, for instance, “non-British”. Sometimes a claimant may suffer race discrimination on multiple grounds. For instance, a Nigerian worker mistreated at work may suffer discrimination under each of the categories of colour, nationality, ethnicity or national origin. Similarly, in cases where a person’s ethnicity and religion or belief are closely interrelated, the individual may suffer both race and religion or belief discrimination.
Immigration status is not the same as nationality under the EA 10, and mistreatment due to immigration status is not unfavourable treatment due to race, regardless of how vulnerable the worker is to mistreatment as a result of their immigration status (Taiwo v Olaigbe [2016] UKSC 31).
Whether or not words or actions are racially discriminatory depends on context. There are no words that, when used, are always racially discriminatory regardless of context (Lindsay v London School of Economics [2013] EWCA Civ 1650).
New TUC research findings — racism at work
In September 2017, the TUC published the results of a poll of 1,003 black and minority ethnic (BME) workers in a new report, Is racism real?. This latest TUC evidence reinforces the results of a government-commissioned independent review, the 2017 McGregor-Smith review, Race in the workplace, that identified discrimination at every stage of working life. The TUC report shows that BME workers face many forms of racism and discrimination at work, including verbal abuse, racist comments and jokes, bullying and harassment, physical violence, being singled out and treated differently or discriminated against, for example by being denied training or promotion. More than a third (37%) of those polled reported having been bullied, abused or having experienced racial discrimination at work.
The report highlights that many BME workers do not report their experience formally and that this has a very negative effect on their general wellbeing, mental health and work performance. Forty-three per cent of respondents felt unable to report their experience of discrimination to their employers and 38% did not report incidents of bullying and harassment. The full report is available to download from the TUC’s website.
https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/Is%20Racism%20Real.pdf