Illegality defeats discrimination claim

Yakante v Governing Body of Addey and Stanhope School (No 2) CA TLR 28 September

The claimant was a Croatian asylum seeker who illegally obtained paid employment at the defendant’s school as a teacher and had continued in post for eight months. The Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s decision that the employee was not entitled to complain that his dismissal was discriminatory because of the illegality of his conduct. It is difficult to formulate a test for illegality that works satisfactorily for all torts and the precise basis and exact boundaries of the defence are problematical. Applying the test of whether the claim was so closely connected or inextricably bound up or linked with the claimant’s illegal conduct that the defendant should be permitted to rely on the defence of illegality, the Court concluded that the defendant should be so permitted.