Augustine v Data Cars – discrimination against part-time workers only occurs where the less favourable treatment is solely because of their part-time status

Before the Employment Tribunal, the Claimant argued that he had been discriminated against by the Respondent because he was required to pay a flat weekly circuit fee of £148. This was the same for all drivers but, because the Claimant was a part-time taxi driver, it meant that he received proportionately less money than a full-time driver, once the fee was deducted. The Claimant alleged that this meant he was being treated less favourably than a comparable full-time worker and was therefore in breach of the part-time workers regulations.

The Tribunal disagreed, and this decision was upheld (albeit with different reasoning) by the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case was handed down on 15 July 2024. The EAT agreed with the Claimant that by charging a flat fee to all employees, the Respondent was not treating part-time and full-time employees in the same way. The Claimant was receiving proportionately less pay than his full-time comparator, once the fee had been deducted from take-home pay.

The EAT then looked at whether the less favourable treatment was because of the Claimant being part-time. Its own view was that the correct test should be whether part-time status was an effective cause of the treatment. However, the EAT found that there were conflicting decisions of other EATs on the point and therefore, given the Britain-wide scope of the EAT, found that it was bound by the judgment of the Scottish Court of Session in McMenemy v Capita Business Services. In McMenemy, the test was only if the treatment was solely for the reason of being a part-time worker. The EAT therefore upheld the Tribunal’s decision on the basis of the “sole reason” test – the charging of the circuit fee was not on the sole ground of being a part-time worker and therefore the claim was dismissed.

This is an interesting decision as it is a narrow interpretation of the regulations and potentially limits the scope so that treatment is only less favourable if the sole reason of it is the fact of the worker being part-time. If you have any queries on this decision or other matters relating to part-time workers, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the employment team.

Contact our employment law solicitors today

We will keep you updated as things progress within the new government. If you have any questions regarding any of the issues raised in this article, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist Employment Law team by using our online enquiry form or by calling 0330 191 5713.