Essex County Council

Case Summary

The claimant, a social worker for Essex County Council, succeeded in a complaint of indirect disability discrimination (failure to permit participation in investigation) and constructive unfair dismissal. The EAT considered whether the Employment Tribunal erred in compensating her full loss of earnings for the discrimination complaint without applying the unfair dismissal statutory cap, and whether the tribunal's assessment of future loss of earnings and pension loss was correct. The EAT found errors in law regarding future loss of earnings and pension loss assessment, but upheld the tribunal's finding that loss of earnings flowed from the single act of indirect discrimination.

This is an EAT appeal concerning the correct assessment of compensation. The EAT found the Employment Tribunal erred in law in awarding no future loss of earnings and in its assessment of pension loss. However, the EAT upheld the tribunal's assessment that the claimant's loss of earnings flowed from a single act of indirect disability discrimination (the PCP of not permitting the subject of the complaint to participate in the investigation), which entitled her to compensation uncapped by the unfair dismissal statutory maximum, because the discrimination complaint was brought as a detriment claim separate from the constructive dismissal.

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• •Whether Employment Tribunal erred in law in assessment of compensation for indirect disability discrimination
• •Whether future loss of earnings should have been awarded
• •Proper assessment of pension loss
• •Causation between single act of indirect discrimination and constructive dismissal
• •Scope of compensation for discrimination complaint as detriment versus dismissal

Judgment approved by the Court for handing down Griffiths v Essex County Council © EAT 2026 Page 1 [2026] EAT 86 Neutral Citation Number: [2026] EAT 86 Case No: EA-2024-001169-JOJ EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL Rolls Building Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL Date: 12 June 2026 Before : HIS HONOUR JUDGE JAMES TAYLER - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Between : Nicola Griffiths Appellant - and – Essex County Council Respondent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rad Kohanzad (Instructed through direct access) for the Appellant Tom Gillie and Katy Sheridan (co-authored skeleton argument) (Instructed by Essex County Council Legal Services) for the Respondent Hearing date: 12 May 2026 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - JUDGMENT Judgment approved by the Court for handing down Griffiths v Essex County Council © EAT 2026 Page 2 [2026] EAT 86 SUMMARY Disability Discrimination, Unfair Dismissal The Employment Tribunal erred in law in its assessment of compensation in awarding no future loss of earnings and in its assessment of pension loss. The Employment Tribunal did not err in law in its assessment that the claimant’s loss of earnings flowed from a single act of indirect disability discrimination. Judgment approved by the Court for handing down Griffiths v Essex County Council © EAT 2026 Page 3 [2026] EAT 86 HIS HONOUR JUDGE JAMES TAYLER The issue 1. The issue in this appeal is how the Employment Tribunal should have assessed compensation, having found in favour of the claimant in respect of one complaint of indirect disability discrimination and a complaint of unfair constructive dismissal. The Employment Tribunal judgments 2. In a judgment sent to the parties on 26 January 2023, an Employment Tribunal, Employment Judge Jones, sitting with members, upheld one complaint of indirect disability discriminat…