Hiring Row | HR candidate told by employer they want to hire 'fewer white men' loses tribunal

A candidate for an HR Manager role at a financial services company has lost a sex and race discrimination case after his potential employer told him the company wants to hire “fewer white men”.

Chris Palmer went for an interview for the role of HR Manager at AIMS Markets. He was interviewed by the company’s managing director, Michael Jones, but was unsuccessful in going into the £80,000 salaried job role, as interviewers were concerned about his “arrogance”.

Palmer told a tribunal that during the interview he was told the company wanted to hire “fewer white men”, and because the position ended up going to a woman, he believed he didn’t get the job based on his ethnicity and gender.

However, the panel ruled that it was not the company’s “intention to discriminate” when the managing director had mentioned ambitions to improve diversity. As a result, Palmer’s claims were dismissed, and he lost the case.