Tribunal upholds two race related harassment claims after examining workplace conduct
The former head of legal at Peterborough City Council has won an employment tribunal claim for racial harassment after a panel upheld two allegations relating to comments and images shared in the workplace. The tribunal dismissed 41 other complaints brought by Rochelle Tapping but concluded that two incidents amounted to unlawful harassment related to race.
Tapping, who is black and of Jamaican and Caribbean ethnic origin, worked for the council from 14 November 2022 until 31 August 2023 as director of legal and governance. Her employment ended when the chief executive, Matthew Gladstone, recommended that she had not passed her six month probation period. The tribunal noted this background as part of the wider claim but focused on specific alleged incidents.
In its published judgment, the panel examined a remark made by Gladstone about another colleague. Gladstone asked Tapping whether she was friends with Adsuwa Omoregie, who had joined the council in February 2023 as interim head of legal and was also a black woman. Gladstone told the tribunal that he may have asked whether the two women had worked together previously, explaining that it is common for senior leaders to recruit or be familiar with professionals they already know through their work.
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Employment Judge Tynan wrote in the decision that the tribunal did not accept Tapping’s view that the question revealed a racist perspective or was intended to make her or Omoregie uncomfortable. The judgment stated that Tapping overstated the impact of the remark and wrongly attributed a malicious motivation to Gladstone. It also recorded that she did not raise the issue at the time.
However, the tribunal concluded that the comment could reasonably have caused offence to Tapping because of the implication she perceived. Judge Tynan said the question could be interpreted as suggesting that two black women in senior roles must know one another or that Omoregie had not been recruited solely on merit. While the tribunal found no basis to infer that these were Gladstone’s views, it accepted that Tapping could reasonably have felt offended and that the comment contributed to an adverse working environment.
The tribunal also upheld a complaint concerning a work WhatsApp group used by senior staff. On 11 April 2023, the council’s chief finance officer, Cecilie Booth, shared holiday photographs taken in Brazil that depicted almost naked black women. Judge Tynan stated he was certain Booth did not intend to offend but observed that Tapping was the only black member of the chat. The judgment noted that the images focused on the performer’s exposed buttocks rather than her professional abilities. The tribunal concluded that the content related to race and that it was reasonable for Tapping to feel that it created a degrading environment for her and for black women more broadly.
Judge Tynan said the images affected Tapping’s sense of what it means to be a successful professional black woman, and for that reason the complaint was upheld. The tribunal rejected the remaining alleged detriments and said there were no grounds to support the further claims advanced.
The panel confirmed that the case will proceed to a remedy hearing to determine what compensation or redress should be awarded following the findings.