Two racial harassment claims against Peterborough City Council upheld at employment tribunal

Rochelle Tapping, the city council's former director of legal and governance (monitoring officer), was employed by the authority from November 2022 until August 2023 when she was dismissed for failing her probation period.

A lengthy employment tribunal began in Cambridge in summer 2025, during which Ms Tapping made numerous claims that she was discriminated against during her time working at the council.

Despite a total of 43 complaints given as evidence by Ms Tapping, only two were upheld by the employment tribunal while the rest were deemed not well-founded and dismissed.

The tribunal heard evidence from a total of 21 witnesses.

The decision document published in November noted that Ms Tapping was seemingly the first black person to be appointed to the monitoring officer role at Peterborough City Council and possibly the first black permanent appointment to a position on the corporate leadership team.

It was heard how Ms Tapping made a positive impression on all those who met her during her recruitment process, with one colleague describing her as "a breath of fresh air".

However, she claimed that her ‘cards were marked’ from the outset of her employment after the council's chief executive Matt Gladstone and service director Mandy Pullen were made aware that she was in dispute with her former employer Birmingham City Council, and was alleging that it had racially discriminated against her.

Upheld complaints:

A reserved judgement made by Employment Judge Tynan was published on November 14.

One complaint from February 2023 which was upheld involved Peterborough City Council's chief executive Matt Gladstone asking Ms Tapping if she was friends with the council's interim head of legal at the time Adsuwa Omoregie, who was also a black woman.

When questioned about this at the tribunal, Ms Omoregie said: "Unusual I thought, that is all, I thought it a bit strange as to why he would think we would be friends."

Mr Gladstone said to the best of his recollection, on being introduced by Ms Tapping to Ms Omoregie, he asked if they had worked together and that he did so because it was 'not uncommon' for senior leaders to recruit people they had previously worked with or who were otherwise professionally known to them.

The tribunal upheld the complaint but noted that the question was effectively a 'slip of the tongue' and that it was never Mr Gladstone’s intention to cause offence.

A complaint from April 2023, which was also upheld, involved the council's former chief finance officer Cecilie Booth sending a photograph of what may have appeared to the recipients to be a naked black woman to the corporate leadership team's WhatsApp group.

The photograph was taken by Ms Booth after having Samba dance lessons while on holiday in Brazil and actually featured a black woman in carnival dress with her buttocks, legs and thighs exposed. Ms Booth then messaged the group: "The Brazilian samba is a bit racy…".

The tribunal decision papers noted that Ms Tapping was the only black member of the WhatsApp group and it was "ultimately reasonable" for her to feel that it created a degrading environment for her and black women in general.

However, it added that Ms Booth did not set out to offend and that it was intended as a light hearted communication with her colleagues back in the UK.

In response to the tribunal decision, the council's chief executive Matt Gladstone, said: "I am pleased that the tribunal's thorough examination has found in our favour in relation to almost all of the allegations made against the council, including those that related to the claimant’s suspension and dismissal as the council’s monitoring officer.

"In respect of the two claims that were upheld, I am pleased that the tribunal found that the offence caused was never intended.

"However, we will reflect carefully on the lessons to be learned from this case.

"Recognising and valuing diversity is one of our core corporate values and one that I personally take very seriously.

"As an organisation, we will continue to promote a culture where everyone is treated equitably, regardless of race or any other protected characteristic."

The remainder of Ms Tapping's complaints were not upheld.

The tribunal papers stated this was because Ms Tapping had "failed to establish the essential primary facts relied upon by her in support of her claim to have been subjected to unwanted conduct and detriment in respect of those matters".