Employment: black Nigerian candidate overlooked despite excellent academic credentials

An Oxford firm found to have discriminated against a black African lawyer has been ordered to pay him £5,500, and to give its staff equal opportunity training.


An employment tribunal in Reading found that Marshall & Galpin had discriminated against Osita Mba on the grounds of his racial or ethnic origin by its failure to select him for interview after he applied for a job as a probate solicitor.


The firm had selected another black applicant for interview, which the tribunal stated had given it 'considerable cause for concern' in reaching its decision, but said it was not impressed by the reasons given for the distinctions made between Mr Mba and those candidates interviewed. It held that the inclusion of a 'noticeably weak black African' did not preclude the conclusion that a strong candidate was excluded from interview because he was a black African.


Mr Mba gained a 2:1 law degree from the University of Nigeria and qualified as a barrister in Nigeria - coming first out of the 3,600 people on the course. He came to the UK in 2001, obtained a post-graduate law degree from Oxford University, and was admitted as a solicitor in January this year.


The tribunal found that some of the applicants interviewed had good degrees, had trained with well-regarded firms and had more experience of private client work than Mr Mba, but none had post-graduate academic qualifications or had done as well in their professional qualifications.


In its ruling the tribunal criticised the firm's 'remarkably backward' approach to equal opportunities - it noted that no member of staff had received any equal opportunities training and none was aware of the codes of practice issued by the Commission for Racial Equality or the Law Society.


A spokesman for Marshall & Galpin said the firm accepted there were shortcomings in its procedures and training, and had revised them prior to receiving the judgment. It is not planning to appeal.


He added: 'A significant number of our staff, past and present, are from a minority background and we are proud that our workforce represents the cultural diversity of Oxfordshire.'