Friday 19 May 2017

Psychometric Test Ruled Discriminatory


 Recruitment agencies will need to be careful about adjustments to the format of recruitment assessments for disabled job applicants,after a ruling by an EAT.The tribunal had ruled that an applicant with Asperger's syndrome was unfairly disadvantaged by an online multi-choice psychometric test.

The claim was brought by an aspiring lawyer, Ms Brookes, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome.She applied for a job as a trainee solicitor with the Government  Legal Service (GLS).

The application began with a "fiendishly competitive" online "situational judgment test (SJT).Ms Brookes asked if she could submit her answers in a short narrative form because of her condition. However,she was told that an alternative test format was not available.

Ms.Brookes completed the SJT test in its multiple-choice format and scored 12 out of 22.The pass mark to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process was 14.

Her employment tribunal case included a claim for indirect  disability discrimination.The tribunal   accepted that the multi-choice format put her at a particular disadvantage because of her condition.

The GLS appealed against the decision,but the subsequent EAT accepted that her condition had affected her ability to complete the multiple choice assessment and that the GLS should have adapted the test for her.

The Government Legal Service v Brookes (2017)UKEAT 0302

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Claim struck out due to witness speaking to others during break



Reporter's Case Struck Out


A tribunal has struck out a BBC reporter's claim after finding that she discussed her case with  a newspaper journalist  during an adjournment when giving her evidence.The tribunal held that a BBC journalist,Sally Chidzoy's discussion with the journalist during a break in her evidence while still under oath was "unreasonable conduct" that justified her claim being struck out.

The tribunal concluded that a fair trial was no longer possible because it had lost all trust in the claimant.It also ruled out restarting the case with a different panel because the claimant had almost completed her evidence. Beginning again could lead to disputes over any changes in evidence given to the first and second tribunal.


Ms S Chidzoy v British Broadcasting Corporation. UKET 3400341/2016

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