A London firm has won its appeal against a tribunal's finding of unfair dismissal and racial discrimination.


The original judgment came after Levenes dismissed solicitor Julieth Dalley for missing a time-limit in proceedings.



At the original tribunal, Ms Dalley successfully argued that her dismissal was unfair because she had been treated more harshly than a colleague who had also missed a time-limit, but had not been dismissed.



The tribunal noted that the colleague was a black African, whereas Ms Dalley was black Afro-Caribbean. The tribunal concluded that, with no alternative explanation offered, the dismissal of Ms Dalley must have been racially biased.



The Employment Appeal Tribunal said the lower tribunal 'fell into error in the way in which it dealt with the question of disparity'. The decision to dismiss was not taken on racial grounds and was procedurally and substantively reasonable, it found.



Jonathan Rayner