Case finds council is liable for ALMO staff

Michael Woodhouse, a principal regeneration officer at West North West Homes, alleges he was racially abused by the council’s clerk of works, Malcolm Chapman, between December 2006 and January 2007.

Leeds Council applied in July to be excluded from the case because it said Mr Woodhouse was employed by the ALMO (Inside Housing, 18 July). During that hearing the three respondents in the case – Leeds Council, the ALMO and Mr Chapman – denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Woodhouse transferred from the council to North West Homes in 2006, one of six ALMOs the authority set up that year to manage its homes. NWH later merged with one of the six to form WNWH, where Mr Woodhouse is still employed.

Judge Humphrey Forrest rejected Leeds Council’s plea on behalf of itself and Mr Chapman. In his judgement he described the council’s relationship with the ALMO as extremely close: ‘ALMO employees are treated on the same basis as employees of Leeds City Council staff.’

Mr Forrest also ruled that Mr Woodhouse’s claim should be allowed to proceed despite it being lodged too late. ‘In the circumstances of this case, there are strong arguments for finding that it would be just and equitable to extend time.’

David Sorensen, the lawyer for union Unite who is representing Mr Woodhouse, described the decision as important. ‘It establishes possible liability for the council for an ALMO employee.’

Amanda Harvey, a partner at law firm Devonshires, said she was unaware of any other case that had tested the relationship between an ALMO and a council in this way.

Race relations laws allowed for employers to be considered vicariously responsible for third parties, she added.

The two parties’ lawyers must now agree on a date for a full tribunal hearing. A spokesperson for Leeds Council said it was still considering the tribunal’s judgement. 

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