Extension of race discrimination exposure
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal casts doubt on the legality of businesses refusing applications for employment by candidates from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). In the case in question the potential candidate for employmentat a law firm had his application automatically rejected. The applicant who was an Indian national was not considered for employment as he did not hold a UK work permit at the time of his application.
The law firm assumed that the fact that the applicant did not have a work permit was paramount in refusing to process an application. The Tribunal found that it is not for an employer to “second guess” the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA). To make the assumption that the BIA would or would not issue a work permit as a basis for not considering applications from outside the EEA was an error.
The Appeal Tribunal held that the applicant had suffered indirect race discrimination by having his application automatically rejected.