The case involved the issue as to whether a solicitor, in advising an employer to take allegedly discriminatory disciplinary proceedings against an employee, can give rise to a liability for aiding a discriminatory act under the Race Relations Act 1976.
Section 33 RRA provides that a person who “knowingly aids another person to do an act made unlawful by [the RRA] shall be treated … as himself doing an unlawful act of the like description”.
The firm’s Employment Team, including partners Joe Shammah and Rachel Furniss, successfully argued that, on the facts of this case, the solicitor was merely acting as a conduit for the employer’s actions and so did not aid any unlawful conduct.
The Court’s reasoning was that in extremely rare situations it may be possible for a solicitor who actively promotes oppressive action, and carries it along, to be held so liable. However, it would be very difficult to see how a professional who confines him or herself to giving objective advice in good faith as to the proper protection of his or her client’s interests could thereby commit an act of discrimination.
This decision provides helpful direction in a largely untested area of law regarding professional advisers and makes it unlikely that such advisers, acting in an objective and professional capacity, would be the subject of a successful claim under Section 33. |
