Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Augustine v Data Cars: EAT follows McMenemy ‘sole cause’ test despite disagreeing; flat circuit fee treats part-time worker less favourably pro rata, but claim fails on causation

Published on: 17 July 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

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Article summary

Augustine v Data Cars Ltd [2024] EAT 117 What are the practical implications of this decision?

In this judgment, the EAT, considering an English case, confronts the clashing authorities on the causation test in claims alleging less favourable treatment on the basis that the worker is a part‑time worker. It explains that, if determining the issue free from existing case law, it would have adopted the same test used in the analogous areas of discrimination and whistleblowing, namely that the part‑time working was the ‘effective and predominant’ reason, even if it was not the only reason. The EAT nevertheless proceeds to follow the approach of the Scottish CSIH in McMenemy, requiring that the part‑time working be the ‘sole’ cause of the less favourable treatment. As a consequence, the tribunal has endorsed the narrower of the two possible options, tightening the standard and making it more difficult for claimants to succeed in part‑time worker claims, particularly where there are arguably several factors behind the treatment. By preferring the stricter ‘sole cause’ requirement over the broader ‘effective and predominant’ test, mixed‑motives cases are unlikely to meet the required threshold, and the path to establishing liability in this context is correspondingly constrained...

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