Police constable reject discriminated against 'for being straight white man', landmark tribunal finds

A police officer reject was discriminated against in his application due to him being straight, white and male, a landmark tribunal has found.

Matt Furlong was described as a “white heterosexual male without a disability” as he attempted to follow in the footsteps of his police inspector father when he applied for Cheshire Constabulary.

Mr Furlong did not make the cut in November 2017 after completing an assessment and interview for his "dream job", despite being told “it was refreshing to meet someone as well prepared as yourself” and that he “could not have done any more”.

Instead of receiving a place as a constable on the intake, he was informed he had been put on hold as there were not enough vacancies for all who passed that stage and an employment tribunal ensued.

The judgement, which said it explored "untraversed waters" of the equality act, came to the conclusion the force had unlawfully treated people from underrepresented groups with “protected characteristics” more favourably in its recruitment process.

Following this the force was determined to have conducted direct discrimination under Section 13 of the Equality Act 2010 on the grounds of sexual orientation, race and gender.

​Mr Furlong's lawyer, Jennifer Ainscough of Slater and Gordon, told the Standard: “Matthew was denied his dream job simply because he was a white, heterosexual male.

“This is the first reported case of its kind in the UK where positive action has been used in a discriminatory way. Matthew’s courage in pursuing this will hopefully ensure it is the last."

The action was deemed to be as a result of a drive to improve groups under-represented in policing, such as people from BME backgrounds or those with a disability.

The tribunal was told the force had found 127 candidates to be equal in merit and following this “positive action” was put in place to recruit applicants with “protected characteristics”.

However, the tribunal panel disputed the assertion that 127 applicants could not be differentiated from in terms of suitability, scrutinising aspects of the process which did show ranking systems.

A document detailing the decision said: “The claimant would have succeeded in his application and been appointed as a Police Constable, had the respondent, not applied positive action at the interview stage.”

The decision added the force had: “Obtained and ignored qualitative data and where he [the claimant] was a relatively strong candidate and likely on our assessment to have been positioned on the right side of the number needed to fill the vacancies.”

The tribunal heard Cheshire Constabulary had put measures in place to broaden the demographic of its workforce.

Section 159 of the Equality Act 2010 states that it can be legally decided that a candidate from an underrepresented group be chosen over one from a more widely employed demographic but it must be determined that both are equally qualified for the trait to be used as a tie breaker.

The tribunal judgement directly mentioned Janette McCormick, who was then acting chief constable and is now deputy chief constable of the force, commending her pursuit of diversity within the ranks.

It stated it was accepted "Ms McCormick was a witness of truth who feels passionately about positive action and a diverse Police Force".

"She is clearly a trailblazer who feels strongly that the Force requires some significant change,” the judgement said.

The force has been awarded previously for its commitment to inclusivity and last November it was ranked 13th in The Inclusive Top 50 UK Employers List for 2018/19.

Mr Furlong's lawyer Mrs Ainscough said: “Positive action is an important tool to support a diverse workforce that reflects the community in which we live.

"However it must be applied lawfully to ensure the highest calibre of candidates are recruited regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation and to ensure standards in police forces are maintained to properly protect our society.”

Following the tribunal judgement a remedy hearing is set to be held over two days at a date after April 1.

A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary said: “We have been notified of the outcome of the tribunal and will review the findings over the coming days.”

The force declined to comment further ahead of the remedy hearing.