Police Force Face Claims for Race Discrimination

Over recent months the British Police Force has found itself dealing with a number of claims for compensation due to discrimination in the workplace on grounds of race and ethnicity. One Police officer has submitted a claim for £500,000 pounds because he believes he was discriminated against and denied a promotion unfairly.

The claim is being made against the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, who has been accused of sidelining, Asian and black detectives. There is no limit on the amount of compensation which can be in claimed in a race discrimination case which typically results in demands for high payouts. However there does need to be compelling evidence that the discrimination has occurred in order for a case to be successful.

Unfortunately this Officer’s claim for compensation is not the only one to have been raised.  Another Police employee has also submitted a claim for racial discrimination at the hands of Sir Ian Blair. The claims have come as a bit of a shock, as many people believe that the Metropolitan police Commissioner got the job because of his stance on promoting diversity not for being against it. Sir Ian Blair strongly denies the claims and many others are supporting him.  However everybody who feels they have been the victim of racist in the workplace has the right to have their case heard. It may be that that the racism was not intentional but that does not matter in the eyes of the law. If someone, and not necessarily the alleged victim, feels that racism has occurred a case can be brought to a tribunal to ascertain the facts.

Racism in the workplace occurs across all sectors and industries and poses very difficult situations for both employees and employers. Tribunals are the place where the cases get settled, but cases for race discrimination can take months to reach this point. Before a case goes to tribunal there has to be evidence that the situation has been tried to be resolved within the company first. Employees need to show they have exhausted the internal company policies which are typically done through raising a grievance or going through an appeal process. If the employee is not happy with the outcome and they have reached the end of the line in regards to company policies, then they are able to take their case to the tribunal. Employment law works differently to criminal law by the nature in which the verdict is determined. In a criminal court the evidence provided has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a crime has or has not been committed. In employment law the evidence is weighed up according to the balance of probabilities. If there is a 51 percent chance that an event occurred than the ruling will come down in favour of that event.  Claims for race discrimination are treated in this manner and it will be up to both the employee and the employer to prove what happened before outcomes of the case can be decided.