Can we be sued for discrimination on grounds of nationality, because we have refused to confirm the contract of a Kurdish refugee?
Once refugee status has been granted, an individual has the same social and economic rights as a UK citizen, including full access to employment. So your refugee is entitled to the protection of UK employment legislation. Discrimination is unlawful if it is on racial grounds, but racial grounds are defined under the Race Relations Act as any of the following: • colour • race • nationality • ethnic or national origins If you are refusing to confirm the Kurd’s contract on any or all of these grounds, you are at risk of a charge of discrimination; but if it is for other reasons it will not be discriminatory. If there are conduct or performance issues, however, a fair and reasonable disciplinary procedure should be followed, based on the relevant Acas Code of Practice (see Disciplinary Issues). Otherwise (provided that the one-year’s service qualification has been met), there could be a finding of unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal.
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