UNISON wins long-running race discrimination case against Leicester City Council

A British Asian social worker, who claimed she was subject to racial discrimination by her employer Leicester City Council, has won a significant legal victory at the Court of Appeal, says UNISON today (Tuesday).

In a judgment delivered this morning, the court ruled that the local authority’s decision to discipline, transfer and then dismiss Bindu Parmar in 2021 was because of her race.

The outcome marks the end of the long-running case. It follows two earlier appeals by the city council challenging decisions made by an employment tribunal and an employment appeal tribunal. Both had gone in Mrs Parmar’s favour.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the lower courts that the city council’s decision to invite Mrs Parmar to three disciplinary investigation meetings amounted to less favourable treatment due to her race, and the investigation itself was “baseless”.

UNISON says Mrs Parmar, who held a senior role in the local authority’s adult social care service*, had an unblemished work record for more than 30 years.

While her manager disciplined Mrs Parmar and other Asian employees, no action was taken against white colleagues in similar or worse situations, the court found.

The union said it remained unclear why Mrs Parmar had been investigated by the employer. The Court of Appeal found that “two general failures were alleged against Mrs Parmar but no details were given, such as dates, conduct, people, or the provisions or standards which she was said to have breached”.

The court also concluded: “There had been a conscious decision by the council or by its legal team not to disclose ‘highly relevant evidence’.”

UNISON says it repeatedly warned Leicester City Council against wasting public money by pursuing the case, which the authority has now lost on three occasions.

The council was unsuccessful in the initial employment tribunal in 2023, at a subsequent employment appeal tribunal in 2024 and now the Court of Appeal.

Today’s decision represents a conclusive victory for Mrs Parmar, in a long drawn out and stressful ordeal that she should never have been put through, says UNISON.

Speaking after the judgment, Bindu Parmar said: “I’m disappointed the council chose to waste taxpayers’ money by fighting my case again and again, instead of looking within the organisation to eradicate racism and deal with the senior manager responsible.

“If the council can behave in a racist and discriminatory way towards its own senior staff, and then cover it up, how can we possibly trust that the same isn’t happening to service users behind closed doors?

“This is bigger than one case. It’s about whether we, as a society, will allow discrimination to sit at the heart of public services.”

UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: “No one should face discrimination at work. Or be forced out of a job in the disgraceful way Bindu Parmar was.

“She’s finally got the justice she deserves. But this loyal and dedicated employee, who the union has continued to support, endured a harrowing ordeal simply because of her race. That’s appalling.

“Worse still, Leicester City Council has spent years dragging out this case in repeated appeals. Local authorities should never be allowed to waste public money like this. UNISON will always stand up to employers that discriminate against and are racist towards their staff.”

Mrs Parmar is also bringing an unfair dismissal claim against Leicester City Council. A hearing is scheduled to take place later this year.

Notes to editors:
– *Mrs Parmar was head of service for one of the local areas with Leicester City Council’s adult social care and safeguarding division. She was appointed to that role in 2005.
– The full judgment can be found here.
– An employment tribunal in April 2023 found that the council racially discriminated against Mrs Parmar. The council appealed the decision, but an employment appeal tribunal dismissed Leicester’s appeal in June 2024. The authority then took the case to the Court of Appeal where the challenge was today (Tuesday 22 July) dismissed for a third time.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Chris Birks M: 07870 407670 E: c.birks@unison.co.uk