A former agency worker with Transport Scotland has failed in his claim against the Scottish Government in which he sought compensation for harassment, victimisation and direct discrimination on account of his gender-critical or sex-realist beliefs. The claimant represented himself and the respondents were represented by Westwater Advocates’ Calum MacNeill KC and Ken McGuire instructed by Anderson Strathern.
The claimant cited some nine manifestations of his belief during the six-month tenure of his job processing invoices for the Scottish Government agency, some of which were accepted as being such manifestations with a sufficiently close connection to his beliefs and some not. There were nine allegations of harassment, seven of victimisation and nine of direct discrimination, including the summary termination of the claimant’s engagement following a series of complaints and emails to colleagues about matters relating to gender ideology.
All the claims failed and some were held to be time-barred in addition. In a 113-page judgment, the Tribunal observed that the employer had balanced the claimant’s views with those of others, who had different, but equally valid views. This created challenges as the claimant wished to provoke a discussion on matters which he knew were contentious and personal; he wanted to test his beliefs and to see how the respondent reacted given its (positive) position on diversity and inclusion.
Find the full judgement here.
Calum H S MacNeill KC FCIArb
Ken McGuire