Protection if you flag discrimination at work on behalf of someone else?

pimbo

If you raise a health and safety concern about something that doesn't affect you personally but might harm someone else, you are supposedly protected by whistleblowing legislation.

In the same way, if you raise a concern about possible unlawful discrimination in the workplace that doesn't affect you personally, are you in anyway legally protected from retribution from your employer?

wilfred30

The short answer to your question is no.

You can see from the article on the gov.uk website that discrimination is not covered by the legislation (unless in the public interest).

https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing

Issues of that nature can be reported under the company's grievance policy.

Undervalued

wilfred30 said:

The short answer to your question is no.

You can see from the article on the gov.uk website that discrimination is not covered by the legislation (unless in the public interest).

https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing

Issues of that nature can be reported under the company's grievance policy.

I think I would say "yes and no".

Raising such a concern, unless completely unfounded or malicious, certainly wouldn't be grounds for a lawful dismissal if the employee has at least two years service. 

With less than two years service any employee can still claim unfair dismissal if the dismissal was a result of asserting a legal right, reporting a crime etc. So, if the alleged discrimination was a criminal act then it may be covered?

That said, these type of things are hard to prove, even on the balance of probabilities. It is not hard for an employer to find lawful grounds to dismiss if they have a mind to and go about it carefully. Legally they only need a "reasonable belief" that the misconduct has taken place (they don't have to have proof or even be correct!). So, the legal position and the practical one may be two different things.

TBagpuss

It might be better to speak to the person or people who you think are the ones experiiencing discrimination , and offer to support them if they wish to make a complaint. 

mark_cycling00

Also be aware that (surprisingly) there may be situations where the person does not want it reported.

E.g. the person is close to reaching the requirements for citizenship etc and can't risk losing their job or a change to bonuses
Or, they are just about to request something like a leave of absence and don't to cause any problems prior to this.

I'd have a word to check before you report it yourself

badmemory

Just because you aren't protected does not mean that in a reasonable society you should be.  This is why they had to slaughter the trade unions!

Ditzy_Mitzy

'Retribution' is a strong word, but making reports that a third party is discriminating against another third party is likely to lead to management wishing to investigate further.

If Jason reports to his manager, Midge, that Joan has made racist comments to Ronnie and Ronnie denies it, then questions will need to be asked regarding why Jason made the report in the first place.  It may have been a misapprehension on his part; it may be that Ronnie's denial was a lie because he fears Joan; it may have been a malicious action on Jason's part to get at Joan.  

It's an interesting scenario, but one that Midge would need to consider in the round.  She might wish to interview all involved, look for witnesses and so on.  Jason can't expect such an investigation to be conducted, nor can he expect to avoid a warning or similar if a decision is reached that his actions were nefarious.  

As an aside, who would the report be made to?  Management or some other external party?

pimbo

wilfred30 said:

The short answer to your question is no.

You can see from the article on the gov.uk website that discrimination is not covered by the legislation (unless in the public interest).

Thank you. If the employer is a public sector employer or is in receipt of substantial amounts of public/lottery money, could that be classed as in the public interest?

TELLIT01

A H&S issue is one thing, and should be reported whether or not it affects the individual who notices the problem directly or not.  Supposed discrimination is somewhat more vague in many instances.  The person being discriminated against in the eyes of a 3rd party may not see it that way themself, and reporting it may make life difficult for that person.  I would not report it unless I had spoken directly to the person first.

Unfortunately it seems that these days some people see discrimination of one kind or another in almost everything that happens.

pimbo

TELLIT01 said:

A H&S issue is one thing, and should be reported whether or not it affects the individual who notices the problem directly or not.  Supposed discrimination is somewhat more vague in many instances.  The person being discriminated against in the eyes of a 3rd party may not see it that way themself, and reporting it may make life difficult for that person.  I would not report it unless I had spoken directly to the person first.

Unfortunately it seems that these days some people see discrimination of one kind or another in almost everything that happens.

Fair points. I can't say too much online but in my instance I have spoken to the individuals involved and they do feel that they're having their terms and conditions violated because English isn't their first language and are seen as easy to push around because of that.

They have attempted to raise these matters with the employer directly but they just got fobbed off. I'm not as easily fobbed off and quite frankly if the employer turns ugly I probably wouldn't want to work there anyway and would seek to move on but I wouldn't want to make it easy for them. Which is why I'd like to know if I have any legal protections if I raise a concern about unlawful discrimination that someone else is experiencing.

Undervalued

pimbo said:

TELLIT01 said:

A H&S issue is one thing, and should be reported whether or not it affects the individual who notices the problem directly or not.  Supposed discrimination is somewhat more vague in many instances.  The person being discriminated against in the eyes of a 3rd party may not see it that way themself, and reporting it may make life difficult for that person.  I would not report it unless I had spoken directly to the person first.

Unfortunately it seems that these days some people see discrimination of one kind or another in almost everything that happens.

Fair points. I can't say too much online but in my instance I have spoken to the individuals involved and they do feel that they're having their terms and conditions violated because English isn't their first language and are seen as easy to push around because of that.

They have attempted to raise these matters with the employer directly but they just got fobbed off. I'm not as easily fobbed off and quite frankly if the employer turns ugly I probably wouldn't want to work there anyway and would seek to move on but I wouldn't want to make it easy for them. Which is why I'd like to know if I have any legal protections if I raise a concern about unlawful discrimination that someone else is experiencing.

I think I answered that, as far as is possible on the information available, in my earlier post (no 3 in this thread).