Sufficient facts need to be established raising an inference of sexual or racial discrimination before the burden of proof shifts to the employer. When considering if an employee has suffered detrimental treatment, the test as set out in Shamoon v Chief Constable of the RUC [2003] ICR 337 should be applied.
Nurse Ms Small brought five claims - described as 'race and/or sex discrimination and harassment' - against the Trust which employed her. The claims were consolidated and heard together in January 2010. The employment tribunal upheld one claim of sex discrimination concerning the Trust's failure to consult Ms Small about changes to her shift patterns (this finding was not contested). It dismissed her other complaints.