IGEN Ltd & Ors v Wong

This Court of Appeal judgment, delivered by Lord Justice Peter Gibson, consolidates and clarifies how employment tribunals should apply the recently introduced burden-of-proof provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975, Race Relations Act 1976, and Disability Discrimination Act 1995. Interveners—the Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality, and Disability Rights Commission—assisted given the widespread impact on discrimination litigation. The court approves and refines the Barton guidance by emphasizing a two-stage analysis: claimants must first prove primary facts from which discrimination could be inferred, assuming no adequate explanation, and only then does the burden shift to respondents to prove there was no discrimination whatsoever. Addressing three joined appeals, the court dismisses Igen Ltd v Wong (upholding findings of race discrimination through unexplained unreasonable managerial conduct), allows Chamberlin Solicitors v Emokpae (rumor-based dismissal was not “on grounds of sex” and lacked a proper comparator), and allows Brunel University v Webster (the claimant failed to prove an employee uttered “Paki”; the EAT misread “could”). The annex sets out the revised Barton guidance.