'An act of race discrimination': Southampton tribunal orders £450k payout for Indian who was mistreated at UK university

A Southampton employment tribunal has ordered Portsmouth University to pay a minimum of £450,000 for “subconscious” discrimination against a female Indian academic “who speaks with a marked Indian accent and cadence”. According to a Times of India report, the tribunal found Kajal Sharma was racially discriminated against by her line manager at the university, Prof Gary Rees, after he failed to reappoint her to the same role after five years in the job for no apparent reason and recruited a white woman with no experience in that role to replace her. “His reluctance to recognise the skills and abilities and aspirations of Sharma, and his failure to support and encourage her in the way he supported other members of white staff, points towards a subconscious or unconscious bias,” ToI report quoted the tribunal as saying, adding this bias meant “his failure to reappoint her was an act of race discrimination”.

Sharma completed a five-year tenure as the associate head of organisational studies and human resource management, which concluded on December 31, 2020, necessitating her reapplication for the position. However, Rees neglected to notify her of the internal advertisement for the role. Following Sharma’s rejection and subsequent inquiry for feedback, she received none. The tribunal inferred that Rees deliberately withheld feedback due to his awareness of the unfair and opaque nature of the selection process, added the report. Additionally, Rees dissuaded Sharma from applying for a senior fellow position and failed to offer support during a critical period when Sharma’s baby fell ill. The tribunal uncovered no evidence of Sharma’s underperformance in her role. With inputs from agencies