In Ms J C v London Borough of Waltham Forest a black female barrister, Ms JC, has lost her case for race discrimination, harassment, and victimisation after being labelled as ‘glamorous’ by her manager at the London Borough of Waltham Forest.
Ms JC expressed offence at being introduced as “the glamour corner” during an office tour, which referred to her daily hair and makeup routine. She felt mortified by the characterisation, preferring to be acknowledged for her profession rather than her appearance.
Employment Judge Sophie Park acknowledged that describing someone as glamorous in a professional setting could be inappropriate, potentially undermining their seriousness and professionalism.
Ms JC ‘s relationship with her manager was further strained by other incidents, including condescending emails and critiques of her writing style as not “vanilla” enough.
Ms JC raised complaints about her manager’s management style to her agency alleging frequent undermining and public discussion of client concerns.
Despite attempts by Ms JC’s manager to address workload and management issues during remote work in 2020, Ms JC declined meetings, citing conflicting commitments. She later informed her manager of completing her weekly hours ahead of schedule, contrary to their agreement.
Following failed attempts to schedule meetings, Ms JC’s manager terminated her contract, citing redundancy due to the return of another contract lawyer from maternity leave and citing various complaints against Ms JC.
The tribunal dismissed Ms JC’s claims of direct race discrimination, ruling that she wasn’t treated less favourably based on her race. Her claims of harassment and victimisation also failed to meet the tribunal’s criteria.
While the tribunal recognized the “glamour” comment as a misplaced compliment, it concluded that the error wasn’t racially motivated.
This provides summary information and comment on the subject areas covered. Where employment tribunal and appellate court cases are reported, the information does not set out all of the facts, the legal arguments presented and the judgments made in every aspect of the case. Employment law is subject to constant change either by statute or by interpretation by the courts. While every care has been taken in compiling this information, we cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. Specialist legal advice must be taken on any legal issues that may arise before embarking upon any formal course of action.
