Elrich Daudet, a former senior computer analyst at Computacenter (UK) Ltd, has lost his appeal against a tribunal ruling that his dismissal was fair. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) dismissed his challenge, bringing the legal battle to a close.
Daudet was dismissed for gross misconduct in December 2022 after telling a female colleague they had met in his dreams and sending her romantic messages and poems. The woman later complained to another colleague that Daudet was "doing her head in" after receiving the communications, which included a poem comparing her scent to "flowers in the Garden of Eden."
Claims of Discrimination and Prophetic Dreams
Daudet sought compensation for unfair dismissal, harassment, and race and religious belief discrimination. He argued that he possesses the gift of prophetic dreams, claiming the colleague had appeared to him months before they met as a muse for his poetry and songwriting.
In 2024, an employment tribunal rejected his claims, ruling that his dismissal was fair and that his belief in prophetic dreams did not qualify as a protected philosophical belief under UK equality law. Daudet appealed, arguing that his belief extended beyond his personal experiences and was a broader conviction that dreams can predict future events.
Appeal Arguments and Legal Reasoning
Daudet's lawyer, Chinonso Ijezie, argued that the tribunal had wrongly concluded that the colleague was alarmed by the messages. However, Employment Appeal Tribunal Judge Lord Fairley upheld the earlier ruling, finding no legal error in the tribunal's decision.
Lord Fairley said there was sufficient evidence that the woman had been distressed by the communications. "She thought he was coming on to her and that made her feel uncomfortable. It doesn't matter whether he touches her or if it's in an email," he said.
Judge Rejects Protected Belief Claim
The judge also rejected Daudet's argument that his communications were an expression of a protected belief. "The tribunal's conclusion that the purported belief wasn't protected discloses no error of law. On no view were any of the messages sent by the appellant manifestations of any belief held by him," Lord Fairley stated.
Lord Fairley noted that the messages were effectively "love poems" that were "amorous in nature." "That's plainly something that's objectively sexual," he said. "She thought he was coming on to her and that made her feel uncomfortable."
Appeal Dismissed
The appeal was dismissed, ending Daudet's legal challenge against his former employer. The ruling affirms that personal beliefs, even if sincerely held, may not be protected under equality law if they do not meet the legal threshold for philosophical beliefs, and that workplace communications of this nature can constitute misconduct.
