Take care if you offer work placements

This is an interesting and important case that establishes that if a person is on work placement, they can bring an Employment Tribunal claim if they suffer discrimination during that placement.

The Claimant was a university student on a work placement. She was on a nursing course with Birmingham City University and she needed to do a work placement as part of her course. However the placement was withdrawn when she was unable to work night shifts due to the fact that she had child care commitments.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the original decision of the Employment Tribunal and concluded that it had no jurisdiction under the Equality Act 2010 to hear the claim. However the Court of Appeal was prepared to give effect to the presumed intention of Parliament to enable a Claimant to bring a claim directly against the placement provider in the County Court in addition to being able to bring a claim against the university.

The basis of the claim is that there had been a failure to provide access to a placement or alternatively, that the placement was done in a way that is discriminatory.

This is an important decision for any employer or organisation which offers work placements. This is common in areas such as medicine, nursing and education. The placement provider may carry liability for an Employment Tribunal claim if a person on a placement with them suffers discrimination 'during the course of the work placement'.

This is a common sense decision but is also an interesting reminder that the courts will interpret an Act of Parliament in a purposive way if required. The case is also widely reported in training and Human Resources publications as well as the legal arena such is the breadth and interest of the outcome.

To discuss this or any other employment related issue, contact us.

Case: Blackwood v Birmingham & Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust 2016 EWCA Civ 607

Link to case http://www.employmentcasesupdate.co.uk/site.aspx?i=ed31177