Catherine Urquhart reports on a new frontier in discrimination law
There has recently been extensive discussion of whether discrimination on the basis of one’s caste may be prohibited by s 9(1) of the Equality Act 2010, which bans discrimination on the grounds of race.
On 19 December 2014 Mr Justice Langstaff handed down his judgment in the first Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case to consider caste-based discrimination, Chandhok v Tirkey UKEAT/0190/14/KN, [2015] All ER (D) 91 (Jan).
Ms Tirkey had alleged that her employers, Mr and Mrs Chandhok, had discriminated against her in part due to her low status in the caste system. At a preliminary hearing, Employment Judge Sigsworth had refused to strike out the amendment claiming caste-based discrimination, and the respondents appealed.
Section 9(1) of the Equality Act 2010 defines “race” as including: (a) colour; (b) nationality; (c) ethnic or national origins. There is currently no reference to caste in this sub-section.
Langstaff P considered Mandla v Dowell Lee [1983] 2 AC 548, [1983] 1 All ER 1062 (the case which established that Sikhs are a “racial group” by reference to
