In a recent employment tribunal case, Chris Palmer, a candidate for an HR Manager role at AIMS Markets - a digital capital markets division of the AIMS group - lost a race and sex discrimination case. Palmer claimed that he was not selected for the position due to direct discrimination against him as a white person and / or as a man.
The tribunal, however, ruled in favour of AIMS Markets, stating that the company's aim to improve diversity did not indicate an intention to discriminate against white men.
AIMS Markets, founded in early 2017 by CEO Andrew Clover, experienced rapid growth in 2020. By mid-2021, with only 12 employees and no internal HR post, the company decided to recruit a full-time HR manager. Chris Palmer was among the few selected for a pre-screening interview, during which he claims Managing Director Michael Jones expressed the company's desire to hire "fewer white men."
Palmer went through a pre-screening interview in July 2021, conducted by Michael Jones. During the conversation, Jones mentioned the company's objective of building diversity and expressed a desire to hire "fewer white men." Despite this, Palmer was considered a serious candidate and progressed to the first interview. However, after the first interview in August 2021, concerns were raised about Palmer's seniority, communication style, and salary expectations.
Following his rejection, Palmer alleged that his failure to secure the job was based on his ethnicity and gender. He claimed that Jones had openly stated the company's intention to hire "fewer white men." Palmer also raised concerns about the interview process, accusing the company of merely "going through the motions."
The employment tribunal, led by Judge Tamara Lewis, dismissed Palmer's claims of race and sex discrimination. The panel acknowledged that AIMS Markets aimed to improve diversity but concluded that this did not indicate an intention to discriminate against white men. The judge stated that it is not concerning for an employer to discuss diversity with a candidate for an HR position and aspiring to increase diversity does not imply discriminatory hiring practices.
Palmer presented statistics indicating that the company had hired more men than women since his job was advertised. He suggested that the company had started a process of hiring "fewer men," which was then "reversed" after he raised his discrimination claim. However, the panel found against this argument as they and stated it would be “incredible” that Jones would openly declare an intention to discriminate during an interview.
In this case, the employment tribunal ruled in favour of AIMS Markets, stating that the company's aspiration to be less dominated by white men did not translate into discriminatory hiring practices. The decision underscores the importance of distinguishing between a company's diversity goals and discriminatory actions during the recruitment process. Top of Form
