Discrimination—Employment Tribunal or County Court?

This decision of the Court of Appeal confirms that, where a student or applicant has a discrimination claim against a university, those claimants must issue their claims in the County Court and not the Employment Tribunal (ET). This means that they will have to pay an issue fee. The judgment considered the drafting of section 54(4)(c) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) and determined that, if an institution falls within the definition of ‘university’ within EqA 2010, s 91, that displaces its status as a qualification body and claims against it must be made in the County Court. The appellant in this case had not been deprived of a forum to bring his discrimination claim, but he ought to have issued it in the County Court.

Nwabueze v University of Law Ltd and others [2020] EWCA Civ 1526

What are the practical implications of this case?

As the judgment states at para [4]: ‘it is a feature of the EqA 2010 that (with the exception of equal pay) it tends to separate jurisdiction into watertight compartments.’ Allegations of discrimination in an employment context, including relating to qualifications bodies, are covered by EqA 2010, Pt 5 and are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the ET. Allegations of discrimination in education are covered by EqA 2010, Pt 6 and are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the County Court.

This case confirms the position that students or applicants with discrimination claims against universities under EqA 2010 must issue their claims in the County Court and not the ET. If an institution is a university within EqA 2010, s 91, that displaces its status as a qualification body within EqA 2010, Pt 5 such that the ET will have no jurisdiction. In practice, this may act as a deterrent to some claimants, given that an issue fee is payable in the County Court and is not in the ET.

The case also acts as a reminder of the difficulty that applicants will face when seeking an anonymity order further to the decision in Curless v Shell International Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1710, which emphasised the central importance of open justice.

Case details

• Court: Court of Appeal, Civil Division
• Judge: Bean, Asplin and Lewis LJJ
• Date of judgment: 13 November 2020

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