Police force denied job to white man
A POLICE force has been found guilty of discrimination after it refused to give a potential recruit a job because he was a white heterosexual man.
Cheshire Police is thought to be the first organisation in the UK to be found guilty of discrimination by using positive action when the force turned down 25-year-old Matthew Furlong in 2017.
The force rejected his application for police constable while in the midst of a diversity drive, after a report found in 2015 that it was one of only four constabularies to have no black officers.
Mr Furlong, whose father is a detective inspector in the same force, said he was told after his interview, “it was refreshing to meet someone as well prepared as yourself” and that he “could not have done any more”.
The particle physics and cosmology graduate was later told he had lost out to other candidates. His father then lodged a complaint. In a landmark case, Cheshire Police were found to have used positive action to discriminate against Mr Furlong on the grounds of sexual
orientation, race and gender. An employment tribunal ruled that while positive action can be used to boost diversity, it should only be applied to distinguish between candidates who are all equally well qualified for a role.
Jennifer Ainscough, an employment lawyer at Slater and Gordon who represented Mr Furlong, said: “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 speaking out will hopefully ensure it is the last.
“Had he not been such an exceptional candidate he may not even have suspected anything was wrong and this unlawful and unacceptable selection process may have been allowed to continue.”
The tribunal in Liverpool concluded Mr Furlong had been a victim of direct discrimination. The force’s claim it had seen 127 candidates equally suitable for the role of police constable was a “fallacy”, the tribunal added. It said the police’s decision to impose an artificially low threshold – assigning candidates a pass or fail rather than any kind of score – was not proportionate to addressing the force’s lack of diversity.
Cheshire Police was among a number of forces criticised in 2015 for having no black officers, but had since taken steps to improve efforts, resulting in a number of national awards and recognition, including being chosen to host the National Black Police Associations Conference in 2017.
The case has been adjourned until later this year for a remedy hearing to determine the amount of compensation to be awarded.
A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: “We have been notified of the outcome of the tribunal and will review the findings over the coming days.”