Judge exonerates ACE over race discrimination claim

Claims that staff at Arts Council England (ACE) discriminated against a fellow employee due to the colour of her skin have been dismissed by an employment tribunal, with the claimant's case being labelled as "unreasonable".

Corynne Elliot, an award-winning musician who performs under the name Speech Debelle, had claimed that a number of separate incidents of microaggressions, harassment and bullying led to work-related stress and anxiety and her eventual resignation from the role in August 2021.

But following a five-day hearing held via video link, Employment Judge Garry Smart concluded that ACE had been "genuinely supportive" during Elliot's time as a Relationship Manager at the organisation.

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Elliot had claimed discrimination or victimisation on grounds of race or ethnic origin based on several incidents including being interrupted by a more senior colleague during a meeting, the content of emails sent to her about her return to work following sickness absence and alleged racist comments made by colleagues.

Dismissing the claims, Judge Smart said concerns about Elliot's performance were raised prior to her claims being made.

"It was clear to us that performance concerns were raised including failing to respond to emails, preparedness for meetings, quality of work and quality of decision making," he said.

"It is was equally clear to us that when the respondent tried to manage the claimant properly, the claimant either took offence or became difficult to manage. At this time, in 2019, when performance is being mentioned [her] claims started."

'Unprofessional'

He said that in relation to one alleged incident, in which Elliot was approached by a Senior Relationship Manager in what she claimed was a "rude" and "aggressive" way, it was Elliot who had been "unprofessional" herself.

He said that following the interruption, Elliot sought for work allocated to her to be done by somebody else and laughed at the senior manager before leaving abruptly.

"Whether [an interruption] was expected or not, this was a senior manager interrupting two less senior colleagues. They were subordinate.

"The fact they were 'put out' is neither here nor there. We accept the [Senior Manager's] evidence that the claimant was avoiding doing the work or talking about the work."

In relation to claims that a collegue at an event had made a comment along the lines of "black people don't work", and that her line manager failed to act appropriately when she reported it to him, Judge Smart categorised Elliot's evidence as "unreliable".

"[The alleged comments were] hearsay evidence, going through three people before the claimant found out about them. The 'good authority' that it came from was not identified. It is unreasonable for the claimant to take the view this was discrimination."

Judge Smart went on to say that while an email sent to Elliot with the subject heading "you", was an "unusual" way to address an email, Elliot's claim that it was offensive to her and represented "verbal violence" was "bizarre and extreme".

"There is no evidence that this email was sent because of your race and we don't believe the claimant believes this either," he said.

Reluctant to engage

He also said that ACE showed patience with the claimant while attempting to recoup accidental personal transactions made by Elliot on an ACE procurement card for taxi journeys, takeaways and a driving licence renewal.

"The money was eventually recouped via a deduction from Elliot's final pay packet following her resignation," he said.

"We are in no doubt that many employers would not have believed this to be accidental purchases and we are not in doubt that many employers would not have been as patient and would have instigated disciplinary procedures far in advance into potential misconduct.

Summing up, he said Elliot "seems to have the view that proper professional management of her is micromanagement".

"The claimant was reluctant to engage with any line management that she did not want to happen."

"We are not persuaded by any of the facts that discrimination or persecution has taken place. All the claimants allegations fail and are dismissed."

An Arts Council England spokesperson said they welcomed the ruling, pointing out that it deemed staff involved to have acted "professionally and appropriately".

"We will continue our commitment to making sure that we are an organisation where every staff member has the same opportunities, and everyone feels they belong,” the spokesperson said.