Employment Appeal Tribunal hands down judgment in Bailey v Stonewall

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down judgment in the case of Bailey -v- Stonewall, in which Doyle Clayton acted for the Appellant, Allison Bailey.

In 2022, the Employment Tribunal found for Ms Bailey in her claim that she had been discriminated against by Garden Court Chambers on the grounds of her gender-critical beliefs, and awarded her damages, aggravated damages and (later) costs.

The Employment Tribunal however found against Ms Bailey’s claim that Garden Court’s discrimination had been “instructed, caused or induced” by Stonewall; we appealed that finding to the EAT.

The EAT has now dismissed that appeal. In his judgment, the Honourable Justice Bourne held that the responsibility for the unlawful discrimination lay with Garden Court, not Stonewall, and that the Stonewall individual responsible for the act said to be unlawful did not have the requisite mental element necessary to establish a breach of the Equality Act 2010.

Doyle Clayton partner Peter Daly, who had conduct of the case on behalf of Ms Bailey, said:

“We are disappointed with this outcome and will be considering options for appeal closely in the coming days.

“This is however an important judgment, which provides the first substantial judicial consideration on the provisions of the Equality Act which relate to the instructing, causing or inducing of discrimination.

“Although we were not successful on behalf of Ms Bailey, the clarification in the judgment that organisations may be liable under the Equality Act for persuading employers to introduce indirectly discriminatory policies for their staff is significant.”