According to the local Bristol Post, a school has been ordered to pay £14,000 compensation for its “subtle, insidious and far-reaching” racial discrimination against a black employee…
An employment tribunal heard David McLeod was repeatedly overlooked for promotions in favour of white members of staff at The City Academy in Redfield.
Despite working at the most culturally diverse school in Bristol, on a project to raise attainment among ethnic minority pupils, a white colleague with no experience in the field was promoted to become his line manager on the scheme.
At an employment tribunal yesterday Mr McLeod, 38, said his treatment left him feeling like “nothing” and “a clown”.
He received £14,000 for “injury to feelings”, lower than the £18,000 he had requested, but was unsuccessful in his claim for £10,000 in lost of earnings.
Employment Judge Jenny Mulvaney said his treatment had a significant impact on Mr McLeod, who told the tribunal the thought of carrying out similar work for another organisation made him feel “physically sick”.
Explaining the impact the discrimination, a tearful Mr McLeod said: “On more than one occasion (during the tribunal hearing last year) I began to cry. I spent such a long time in that building (the school) trying to make a difference and I felt like nothing.
“City Academy discriminated against me and every person who looks like me. Multicultural Britain in 2014 means nothing at City Academy.”
Mr McLeod, who is now unemployed, told the hearing he was astonished to learn that some management staff he believed had “held him back” had recently been given promotions.
Of the discrimination, Ms Mulvaney said: “It was subtle, insidious and far-reaching. It affected his confidence and self-worth for a long period of time.”
The tribunal held in December last year heard Mr McLeod was overlooked for promotion in favour of a white person three times in six years…
In an open letter to staff and governors, the academy’s principal Gill Kelly said Mr McLeod was owed an unconditional apology.
She said the academy should have offered Mr McLeod an opportunity to manage the last few months of SAMSA, which was due to come to an end after six years as a result of public sector cuts.
She said: “We made the dreadful mistake of not advertising this post without giving others the opportunity to apply and in summary, the tribunal reached the view that this process was discriminatory.
“We deeply regret this decision and have completely reviewed our processes to make sure this never happens again.”…
More at: Bristol school must pay £14,000 compensation for race discrimination
Do you think there are any wider implications from this news, either in the way schools treat black or ethnic minority staff or, more broadly, in knowledge of employment laws and best practice in schools? Please give us your insights and experience in the comments or via Twitter…