Home Office discrimination claim upheld

In Home Office (UK Visas & Immigration) v Kuranchie (UKEAT/0202/16/BA) the EAT held that the Home Office discriminated against a senior official on grounds of disability, and, pending a reconsideration by an employment tribunal, possibly on grounds of race.

Pearl Kuranchie, a highly-qualified black Ghanaian, was promoted to a senior post in the Visas & Immigration section in London in 2007. In 2011 she was promoted to team leader, and subsequently acted-up as assistant director.

In early 2013 she advised her line manager that she suffered from dyspraxia and dyslexia. It was agreed that specialist equipment would be obtained for her. In mid-2013 her annual performance assessment was downgraded. Kuranchie submitted that the downgrading had arisen because one of the panel members had previously exhibited and endorsed racist behaviour. The ET rejected this case, saying there was no evidence to support it.

The EAT upheld the ET’s finding of disability discrimination, and held that the ET had been wrong to dismiss the complaint of race discrimination, because Kuranchie had provided sufficient evidence to shift the burden of proof onto the Home Office.