Leicester city council v Parmar: Key employment tribunal ruling on discrimination burden of proof

05 August 2025

Facts raising an inference of discrimination will shift the burden of proof to the respondent to show discrimination was not the reason for the treatment.

In Leicester City Council v Parmar, the Claimant worked for the Council and had undergone a disciplinary investigation which had very vague allegations. The Claimant alleged that she had been treated differently to her white colleagues in similar situations. The Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal both held that the facts were sufficient to raise an inference of discrimination. This meant that the burden of proof shifted to the Council to show race was not in fact the reason for the treatment. The Council did not manage to discharge this burden, and so both the Tribunal and the EAT held that direct discrimination was established. The Council appealed.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the Council’s appeal. It held that the white comparator’s circumstances were sufficiently similar to the Claimant’s so that their different treatment by the Council upheld an inference of discrimination. Further, the Tribunal and the EAT had concluded that the explanations for the different treatment were considered not to be credible, and so the Council had not discharged the shifted burden of proof. So, if the explanations were not found to be credible, they could not be held to be capable of defeating an inference of discrimination.

Further, the Court of Appeal held that the Tribunal had been entitled to draw adverse inferences from the Council’s failures of disclosure.

This case reminds employers of the importance to apply disciplinary measures consistently across all staff. Inconsistent approaches can support inferences of unlawful discrimination and therefore open organisations up to considerable risk of litigation. Further, the circumstances of the matter highlights the importance to document investigatory matters clearly and retain documents, to ensure such documents are available in the event claims are lodged.

Inconsistent disciplinary actions can lead to costly legal challenges. Ensure your HR policies and practices are robust, fair, and well-documented. Contact Backhouse Jones today for expert guidance on discrimination law and best practices to mitigate risks.

This article was written by Gabrielle Scriven.