Birmingham City Council is making a formal apology to an employee of 35 years in recognition of an Employment Tribunal finding that he was subject to discrimination on the grounds of his race.
Mazar Dad, a former waste depot Senior Service Manager, was moved away from his role after he brought a complaint relating to a colleague’s behaviour.
The complaint was not investigated and Mazar Dad received a written warning and was transferred to another role.
Mazar Dad, who has now left the Council, brought a claim against the City Council to an employment tribunal, which he won. The tribunal found he was discriminated against on the basis of his race.
Following the tribunal’s findings, published last August, the City Council was asked to make a public apology to Mazar Dad, which is set out below.
Graeme Betts, the Council’s Acting Chief Executive, said: “It has been deeply concerning to read the case of Mazar Dad, who won his Employment Tribunal claim against the Council, which found that he was discriminated against on the basis of his race. I want to acknowledge and support the strength of feeling on this issue. Discrimination in all its forms is completely unacceptable.
“On behalf of the Council, I apologise to Mazar for his treatment. I also want to acknowledge that Mazar was a loyal and committed employee. We publicly apologise to Mazar and confirm that we have agreed to make a payment to compensate him for the discrimination he has suffered. The Council has rescinded the disciplinary warning issued to him.
“As a Council, we are committed to the elimination of all forms of discrimination as well as raising awareness and providing an environment where people can talk about their experiences. This will be a key priority for a wide range of actions across the Council through the continued Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work that builds upon our Everyone’s Battle Everyone’s Business initiative.
“We are determined to improve equality and equity within our workforce, including a review of the handling of complaints and disciplinary cases with an equality focus, and a review of all suspension cases and time frames, with a particular focus on the health and well-being of individuals.”
As a City Council, we have been working hard to ensure diversity is represented through the organisation and all colleagues are treated fairly, regardless of any characteristics they possess: We published our first ever Ethnicity Pay Gap Report (March 2024), which highlights what we have achieved and what further work is to be done to ensure equity in future. We have since designed a programme of work to rectify any recommendations. We also set up our first Emerging Leaders Programme, which creates opportunities to redress issues Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff face when seeking to progress their careers. Additionally, we worked with our staff networks to produce a Diversity Dashboard to capture the diversity of our workforce so employees can see how they are represented across the council. We continue to improve the data by collaborating with our Staff Networks to build a more inclusive dashboard that can be used as part of all workforce and programme planning.
Going forward, to continue the work of Everyone’s Battle, Everyone’s Business, we are working collaboratively with our colleagues and stakeholders to develop a new Strategy that supports the creation of an equitable working environment where everyone can belong.
