In December 2021 a collective grievance was raised by 23 employees, including all the Claimants in the tribunal (who were all Polish) and a number of British nationals, about various matters relating to pay and terms. There was an appeal in respect of the collective grievance outcome which was unsuccessful. The Claimant brought claims of direct race discrimination and victimisation to the ET. The ET and the Respondent conceded that the bringing of the grievance was a protected act. The ET dismissed the Claimant's claims and the Claimant appealed.

The EAT dismissed the appeal. The ET considered a complaint that a response to a collective grievance about Friday breaks was an act of victimisation. It did not err in dismissing that complaint. It also did not err by failing to identify that there was a distinct complaint about this matter under the Working Time Regulations 1998. While the internal grievance had relied upon the 1998 Regulations the judge had properly concluded, at a preliminary hearing held before the start of the full merits hearing, that there was no separate complaint of that sort that had been raised before the ET.