Volunteer’s tribunal claim denied

A disability discrimination complaint by a former Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) volunteer has been thrown out in the Supreme Court.

The female volunteer wanted compensation after the Mid Sussex CAB said she could not continue in her unpaid role after she announced that she was HIV positive.

But five justices sitting in the highest court in the UK ruled that there was “no jurisdiction” for a tribunal to hear a claim for compensation, as the woman had no work contract and was not protected by any anti-discrimination laws.

The complainant, who was not named and known as ‘X’ throughout the case, had claimed that her “voluntary activities constituted an occupation”.

The unanimous judgement of Lords Neuberger, Walker, Mance, Wilson and Lady Hale, following a previous hearing in London last year, will come as a relief to charities after fears were expressed that the “nature of volunteering” would have been under threat if the court had found in favour of discrimination. The impact of such a decision on the voluntary sector would have been “massive”, according to one lawyer.

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