Discrimination

Sex discrimination - non-renewal of employment contract of female teacher - onus on employers to justify inherently discriminatory redundancy avoidance selection process Whiffen v Milham Ford Girls' School and another:CA (Lords Justice Henry and Buxton and Sir Swinton Thomas): 22 March 2001The applicant, a female teacher, worked at the employers' school under a series of contracts.After five years' service her contract was not renewed and she lost her opportunity to be included in the redundancy avoidance selection process.She sought compensation, contending that the requirement imposed by the employers for the selection process constituted sex discrimination since the requirement could be met by 100% of male teachers while only 77% of the female teachers could meet it.An employment tribunal refused her application.

The employment appeal tribunal dismissed her appeal.

The applicant appealed.Laura Cox QC and Louise Brooks (instructed by Graham Clayton) for the applicant.

Martin Kurrein and Adam Solomon (instructed by Solicitor to Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford) for the employers.Held, allowing the appeal, that the employment tribunal, having found that the requirement for the selection process could be met only by 77% of the female teachers while 100% of male teachers could meet it, had been wrong to accept that the redundancy policy was not inherently discriminatory; that the onus was on the employers to establish that the requirement imposed was justifiable irrespective of the sex of the person to whom it was applied as required by section 1(1)(b) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975; but that the employers had failed to discharge that onus.