Former GPCE chief wins right to bring employment claim against BMA

Special A discrimination claim against the BMA will now go ahead after a former GP Committee chair who was sacked while on maternity leave won her case at a preliminary hearing.

Dr Farah Jameel was removed as chairman by the GPCE in 2023 while she was on maternity leave and later took legal action against the BMA, claiming her dismissal was discriminatory.

A preliminary hearing Made in September This was necessary for most of Dr Jameel’s claims against the BMA to proceed, to determine whether he could be classed as an ’employee’.

Pulse has now found that an employment judge is ‘both office holder and employee’ of the BMA under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Equality Act 2010. He may announce that he decided in favor of Jameel.

This means the full discrimination claim against the BMA can proceed and the hearing will begin on February 3 and last for two weeks.

Pulse reported last month that the BMA said ‘direct discrimination (due to pregnancy and maternity); victimization (sex); unfair dismissal; and unfair dismissal’.

last summer, GPCE votes no confidence in Dr JameelIn 2021, she was elected as the first female chief medical officer in England. He was previously temporarily suspended from duty in November 2022 following complaints made by BMA staff.

GPs on the committee voted in favor of the motion stating that they were ‘deeply concerned by the lack of clarity regarding Dr Jameel’s alleged suspension status’.

Dr Jameel’s lawyers argued that the BMA’s decision to give effect to the committee’s vote led to his ‘unfair dismissal’ because the union had ‘no fair cause for dismissal’.

At the time of his dismissal, the BMA told Pulse: was ‘satisfied’ that no legal obligations had been breachedAlthough the vote of confidence for the GPCE was an ‘exceptional case’.

Spencer Wood, Dr Jameel’s partner Oh ParsonsHe told Pulse that the decision at the preliminary hearing was “very significant” and meant a “major hurdle” in the case had been cleared.

‘This is an important first step and we’re happy to get through it,’ he added.

Unite the Union is supporting Dr Jameel’s case by funding legal costs and instructing his legal team.

The ruling at the preliminary hearing by Employment Judge Joffe earlier this week said: ‘The claimant was at the relevant time an employee of the defendant within the meaning of section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.

‘The claimant was at the relevant time an employee of the defendant within the meaning of section 83 of the Equality Act 2010.’

The document, seen by Pulse, said Judge Joffe ‘carefully considered the issue of control’, the common law test for determining whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor.

He said there were ‘significant features’, such as ‘the requirement as to the number of hours the claimant had to work’, which indicated the BMA had ‘control’ over Dr Jameel.

Judge Joffe also said Dr. He also touched on Jameel’s treatment ‘related to sick leave’; because her seeking occupational health and advice meant that the BMA ‘actually controlled the circumstances under which she could return to work’.

In his closing speech the judge said: ‘With all this in mind, looking at the test under Employment Rights, I conclude that the correct analysis of the relationship is that the claimant is both an office holder and an employee of the defendant. Under the 1996 Act and the Equality Act 2010.

‘The label ‘contractor’ was one that the defendant sought to impose to change the nature of the relationship, but it did not change the reality of the situation.’

In response, the BMA said: ‘Given that this is an elected position and Dr Jameel was dismissed as a result of a vote of no confidence by the GPCE, we are surprised that the tribunal reached this decision regarding his employment status.

‘We will now take the time to examine the findings carefully.’

At the time of the vote of no confidence, Dr. Jameel’s suspension hearings had not yet taken place due to her ongoing maternity leave, which began around the same time as her suspension towards the end of 2022.

GPC equality leader and motion proposer Dr. Rachel Ali said that this ‘did not arise as a result of the actions of any individual’, but was instead intended to ‘give the committee the chance to present a clear democratic mandate to the leadership of the profession and end this inequality’. the uncertainty of the last few months.

He sought to reassure members that this was ‘the only fair way forward’, in line with the principle of equality.

While the vote was passed, many people criticized the committee’s action. Hundreds of people sign a petition He called for the vote to be withdrawn due to the ‘unfair’ treatment of Dr Jameel.

However, elections for the new president continued Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer will start in August.

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