Tribunal left employee with no remedy for proven harassment after incorrect analysis of time limit rules

In Logo v Payone and others, Mr Logo brought several claims of racial harassment.

They included:

• that a colleague attended a work party wearing blackface makeup.

• that a colleague told Mr Logo they’d heard a rude joke involving a black man and an animal.

  
  

The tribunal found both incidents had occurred and amounted to racial harassment because of their effect on Mr Logo. However, it ruled the claims were out of time and declined to extend the deadline, leaving Mr Logo with no remedy. The main reason given was that the delay had affected the accused individuals' recollections.The Employment Appeal Tribunal disagreed. Since the tribunal had found the incidents occurred and accepted they had a harassing effect on Mr Logo, concerns about the perpetrators’ recollections were irrelevant. The tribunal had concluded that the incidents were harassment based on the effect on the victim, not the intention of the accused.Mr Logo also alleged harassment when a video advert for ‘Pure Blonde’ beer – depicting a world of white, blonde people – was shared on a team WhatsApp group where he was the only black member. The tribunal dismissed this claim, finding it unrelated to race. The EAT again disagreed, holding that the tribunal had been wrong to conclude that the circulation of a video “that depicts a utopia of white blond people who are ‘pure’”  did not ‘relate to’ race. When looking at the effect of the video the tribunal had also failed to consider:

• the perception of Mr Logo – focussing instead on the fact that the person posting it thought it was funny.  

• the circumstances of the case – including that the video was posted without explanation in a group of which Mr Logo was the only black member.