A black fashion designer was a victim of race discrimination, a judge has ruled, after bosses forced him to visit clothes shops on undercover research trips where he feared he would be suspected of being a shoplifter.
Trevor Sylvester said because he is 6ft 3ins and black ‘people view him suspiciously’ and he is often racially profiled in shops, with security guards ‘assuming’ he is there to steal.
Camden-based design company, Echo Sourcing, sent Mr Sylvester on ‘research trips’ to fashion capitals around the world by and was made to sneakily photograph clothing in stores.
But the designer – who said it was ‘morally wrong’ anyway as it was ‘ripping off higher end designs’ – had to repeatedly tell his bosses he didn’t want to go as the research left him more vulnerable to racial profiling.
Now, an employment tribunal judge has ruled being sent on the trips amounted to indirect race discrimination by his employer.
However, Mr Sylvester lost his case because he took too long to sue his bosses.
Camden-based design company, Echo Sourcing, sent Trevor Sylvester on ‘research trips’ to fashion capitals around the world by and was made to sneakily photograph clothing in stores
Mr Sylvester was sent on trips to shops in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Amsterdam, Seoul, Tokyo and London while he worked at Echo Sourcing, a UK subsidiary of a global business which makes clothes for major fashion retailers.
The British Afro-Caribbean designer raised concerns about the trips from the outset and the tribunal also heard the trips affected his severe depression and anxiety.
A tribunal report said: ‘[Mr Sylvester] says that as a result of his colour and height, people view him suspiciously in various settings.
‘This includes in shops where he is often racially profiled and the staff and security guards assume he is a potential shop lifter.
‘As a result, he gets more attention in shops than other customers. He is often watched and followed which causes him considerable anxiety.
‘(He) was very concerned that the potential for him to be racially profiled as a shoplifter would be exacerbated by the research activities he was required to carry out on the trips.
‘He felt that the activity of showing an interest in particular and expensive items of clothing, repeatedly picking them up, taking them to the dressing rooms (to photograph them), but ultimately leaving the shops without making any purchase would result in increased suspicion of him.’
Mr Sylvester told the London Central tribunal that he was ‘forced’ to go to LA and New York despite telling bosses about how he was ‘genuinely scared of how he might be viewed by American police’.
Employment Judge Emma Burns said Echo Sourcing indirectly racially discriminated against Mr Sylvester, but said his claim could not succeed as it was not presented within the three-month time limit.
Judge Burns said: ‘Although we have found this claim to be out of time, we have nevertheless considered its merits. We have decided that the claim would have succeeded had it been presented in time.
The employment tribunal was held at Victory House, pictured, in central London
‘We were not presented with any statistical evidence that the requirement put black people at a disadvantage when compared with others.
‘However, the panel considered, from our own knowledge, that the experience of which [Mr Sylvester] spoke was real. We were convinced that black people are racially profiled when shopping and more likely to be assumed to have criminal intent.
‘Our view was informed by our knowledge of police ‘stop and search’ statistics in the UK.
‘We were satisfied that [Mr Sylvester] was at greater risk than his colleagues of being identified as a potential shop lifter when undertaking shopping research trips.
‘The fact that he did not actually experience any difficulties when undertaking trips does not negate this greater risk.’
The judge added: ‘The reason for sending its designers on trips was because [Echo Sourcing] considered doing so was necessary for genuine business reasons.
‘However, as demonstrated in this case, alternative methods of undertaking research were available to it. The success of [Mr Sylvester’s] own online research product shows that [Echo Sourcing] could have achieved its legitimate aim in a less discriminatory way.’
Mr Sylvester resigned on October 2018, having worked at Echo Sourcing since May 2014, and now works elsewhere.
Under Employment Tribunal law, claims must be brought three months after the act claimant’s are complaining about.
Mr Sylvester lodged the complaint – as well as a series of others including workplace bullying and harassment – 12 months after the last act.