Civil servant’s race discrimination case settled

Scottish Ministers have reached a settlement with a civil servant who brought a race discrimination case to challenge her treatment in the workplace. The case was settled after the Equality and Human Rights Commission funded the eight-day final hearing through its legal support scheme.

The scheme seeks to improve outcomes for victims of racial discrimination by offering financial support to enable access to legal expertise. The fund launched late last year and this is among the first supported cases to have reached its conclusion.

Rose Quarcoo, who was employed by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, claimed she experienced a series of acts of direct race discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

An employment tribunal in Edinburgh heard that the claimant was allegedly subject to degrading and derogatory treatment by her line manager. This included being set up to fail and assumptions being made about her capability and qualifications based on her race.

Mrs Quarcoo argued that, as a result of this treatment, she developed anxiety and depression, which the employment tribunal found to be a qualifying disability under the Equality Act 2010. Her employer allegedly then failed to make reasonable adjustments to ensure she was not disadvantaged in the workplace.

The Commission's legal support scheme is open to new applications from people who have suffered discrimination because of their race.

Baroness Kishwer Falkner, Chairwoman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: