A librarian at Trinity College took legal action against the College for racial discrimination after being denied leave to travel to India for a term, an employment tribunal has heard.

Havovi Anklesaria, who has worked at Trinity for over 30 years, wanted to take three months off at the start of the year instead of over the summer.

When her request was refused, she declined a permanent position at the College and pursued a case against the University, alleging race discrimination and victimisation.

However, the case was dismissed after a judge ruled that Trinity had acted “flexibly” in attempting to accommodate her holiday requests.

The Cambridge-based tribunal heard that Anklesaria had been employed on various casual contracts as a library supervisor since 1994, which allowed her to travel to India annually between mid-December and mid-April to care for her parents and visit family.

In 2017, the College revised its HR procedures, and instead of being classified as a continuing employee, she began receiving P45s between contracts, meaning she was no longer officially on the payroll.

By 2021, Trinity College introduced permanent desk supervisor contracts and offered one to Anklesaria, which would have permitted her to take a three-month break over the summer.

However, she declined the offer, insisting on maintaining her usual break at the start of the year, covering the entire Lent Term.

The tribunal determined that permanent employees were unable to take extended time away during term time.

It concluded that the contract was not discriminatory because Ms Anklesaria had been offered a permanent post with flexibility, just not at the time of year she wanted.

Employment judge Rebecca Freshwater said: “[Anklesaria] was, ultimately, offered a permanent and flexible contract. It was not one that she found acceptable. She would have been able to take breaks from work and move away for travel purposes, just not during an entire term.”

“[Trinity] worked to find solutions for the claimant that included flexibility. [Anklesaria] was offered a contract that would have permitted her to have a break of 3 months over the summer,” she continued.

She added: “[She] did not accept this because, in her view, she ought to have been offered a permanent contract that enabled her to take the same breaks from work that she had done under the casual contracts.”

Similar discrimination claims were made at a tribunal in December by a Homerton College by-fellow. However, they failed to convince an employment tribunal that their fellowship status made them an employee, preventing them from pursuing discrimination claims against the College.

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