The Claimant, who identifies himself as being of Moroccan origin and Muslim was upset when a colleague asked him: "Are you still promoting IS/Daesh". He brought various claims to the ET, the only one relevant for the appeal hearing being an allegation of harassment related to race and/or religious belief concerning the comment from his colleague. In deciding whether this admitted remark constituted unlawful harassment the ET concluded that here was no evidence that the colleague made the remark because of the Claimant's race or religion and it therefore did not constitute direct discrimination. The Claimant appealed.

The EAT dismissed the appeal. The ET were entitled to take into account the context in which the offending words were spoken. Whilst another ET may have reached a different conclusion, this ET applied the correct test for whether the conduct complained of constituted harassment within the meaning of EqA section 26.