The Legal Toolkit
Prologue
Sistren Legal Collective is a community of lawyers working at the intersection of law, grassroots organising and movement building. We use our knowledge of the law as a tool to support the work of leaders, activists, changemakers and organisations centring social and racial justice.
A few years ago, we began noticing a pattern in the conversations we were having with colleagues, collaborators and people in our wider networks. People were reaching out to ask whether we could help them navigate racism at work – not only what they could do about it legally, but whether what they were experiencing was something the law recognised at all.
We don’t have employment law expertise within Sistren Legal Collective, so we’re not able to advise on employment law matters. And yet, workplace injustice – particularly experiences of racial harm – was emerging as a consistent and urgent theme in the questions we were receiving. Part of our role, when we don’t hold the expertise ourselves, is to listen carefully to what is being asked, identify where the gaps are, and resource legal work that responds to those needs. So, we began asking ourselves: who could bring not only strong employment law expertise, but also a deep understanding of the nuanced lived realities people were describing? We found ourselves returning, unanimously, to one person: Melvyna Mumunie, an employment law expert.
Melvyna has built an impressive career across a range of leading law firms, specialising in discrimination and whistleblowing in the workplace. She is regularly instructed to advise on grievances, disciplinaries, work-related stress and personal injury, and strategic exits. She has acted in high-profile whistleblowing and discrimination claims before the Employment Tribunal, Employment Appeal Tribunal and Court of Appeal, and brings a deep commitment to advancing equality in the workplace. Alongside her legal practice, she is a founding member and co-chair of the Employment Lawyers Association’s Race Equality Committee, a member of the Industrial Law Society’s Executive Committee and regularly speaks on employment law issues. She brings not only technical expertise to this work, but clarity, care and a shared commitment to its purpose. We knew she ‘got it’.
Around the same time – somewhat serendipitously, as these things often happen – Spark reached out to us. The 2024 racist riots had recently taken place, and Spark was responding to the concerns and experiences that people were carrying in their aftermath. As a community organisation that provides education, information and connection for racialised people in the UK, Spark was already closely attuned to the questions people were asking and suggested the idea of creating a toolkit grounded in lived experience. Together, we began exploring what it might look like to develop a resource that could meet those needs.
The work that followed exemplifies care and collaboration. Spark led the development of a trauma-informed survey exploring people’s experiences of workplace racism (the ‘Spark × Sistren survey’). The Spark × Sistren survey revealed the many ways racism shows up at work – from the subtle to the overt – and provided a grounded, lived-experience foundation for this toolkit. Drawing on these insights, Sistren developed a concept note that translated people’s experiences and questions into a structured set of legal issues to be addressed. Melvyna then produced the core legal content, bringing together relevant legislation and case law.
Members of Sistren contributed their own lived experiences of navigating race discrimination at work, helping to sense-check the content and shape the practical guidance, particularly the checklist in Part III of this toolkit. We then worked to restructure and ‘translate’ the legal material into a format that is accessible and usable for people who may not be familiar with legalese.
One member of the Spark collective went on to develop a world without… (aww…), which then worked as a partner across all three groups. They brought a depth of expertise in accessibility, anti-racism and anti-oppression, helping to shape the content and design of the toolkit, and leading on communications. Spark developed this into a digital toolkit in collaboration with aww…, transforming what could have been a static document into a living, navigable resource for people.
This toolkit is the result of more than 18 months of shared work. Over that time, we navigated not only the demands of the project, but also significant life moments alongside the everyday complexities of our personal and professional lives. Throughout, we held each other with care and remained grounded in the purpose of the work.
At every stage, we’ve centred the experiences that people shared with us through the Spark × Sistren survey – experiences offered with honesty, vulnerability and trust. This toolkit exists because of them.
Static biographies rarely capture the full picture of people, and the range of skills, perspectives and lived experiences that have shaped how they have created this resource. We hope this prologue offers a fuller sense of the collective effort behind this toolkit, and the care with which it has been created.
Authors, Contributors and Collaborators
Co-Author and Employment Law Expert: Melvyna Mumunie
Co-Author and Project Lead: Paridhi Singh (Sistren Legal Collective)
Contributing Authors: Samara Lawrence, Keya Advani, and Uvini Edirisinghe (Sistren Legal Collective)
Guest Contributor: Michelle Codrington-Rogers (Trades Union Congress)
Collaborators: Ishita Ranjan (Spark) and Zoe Daniels (a world without…)
Why we developed this toolkit
“How long have you got”
Anonymised Spark x Sistren survey response
In 2025, we worked in partnership with Spark, who invited racialised people working across sectors to share their experiences of bias, discrimination and racism at work through responses to a survey. Together, we were working to understand people’s lived experiences of workplace-based racial harm among people and the support they need or may want. The Spark × Sistren survey helped to reveal the different ways in which racism shows up in the workplace:
‘Racism in the workplace doesn’t always come in obvious forms. It’s not always as clear-cut as slurs or overt exclusion, though those still happen. More often, it shows up in quieter, harder-to-name ways: a colleague who keeps their distance or rolls their eyes when you raise an issue, the promotion that never comes, or the meeting where your idea is ignored until someone else repeats it. These moments are often overlooked, but their impact runs deep. They can erode confidence, take a toll on mental health, and shape entire career paths. This harm is compounded by the roles that racialised people are expected to play at work, the exclusion they experience, the stereotypes they encounter, and racial inequity at a broader, systemic level.
This harm is compounded by the roles that racialised people are expected to play at work, the exclusion they experience, the stereotypes they encounter, and racial inequity at a broader, systemic level.’
How does the law respond to lived experiences like these? Does the law recognise some of the themes that emerged from the Spark × Sistren survey, for example, that:
- racism can be structural – that the legacy of workplace practices, policies, attitudes and norms can continue to shape outcomes even when no individual necessarily intends harm.
- racism shows up intersectionally – that the experience of racism converges, compounds and collides with other aspects of people’s identities.
- the wider political context matters – that the experiences of harm within workplaces can be contextually shaped by what’s happening outside of workplaces.
“I have had to leave a job due to experiencing racism, sexism and maternity discrimination. I was signed off for 6 months and am still recovering from the mental health impact 2 years later.”
Anonymised Spark x Sistren survey response
In addition to the Spark × Sistren survey, there are a number of studies that provide empirical evidence about the persistence and pervasiveness of race inequalities in the workplace. Despite the abundance of data demonstrating that people experience disadvantage and harm at work on the basis of their race, we didn’t find many legal resources in support of people experiencing this harm. We developed this toolkit to try and address that gap, and in response to the experiences generously shared by participants in the Spark × Sistren survey, to help translate complex legal frameworks into something people can use to understand their experiences, their rights, and the possible pathways available to them when navigating race discrimination at work.
But there is also a deepening context to this work. The 2024 racist riots in the UK intensified the concerns that people were feeling. As misinformation and deep-rooted racism spilled over in the form of an estimated 30 anti-immigrant demonstrations and racially motivated riots across 27 towns and cities across the UK, it was clear that many were experiencing additional fear, worry and trauma going into workplaces.
“Last year during the far-right riots a white colleague was making insensitive remarks relating to concerns about personal safety. Specifically, how they wished that with all the tension the [sic] wished that something bigger happened, describing it as anti-climactic. As a Black person I found this deeply offensive as I was genuinely concerned for my personal safety.”
Anonymised Spark x Sistren survey response
Workplaces reflect and reproduce the inequalities that exist beyond their walls. In a political moment marked by the rise of far-right rhetoric, these dynamics feel sharper. As exclusionary ideologies gain traction, they influence workplace cultures, too. In that environment, legal protections matter.
We all bring our identities into work. As Gary Younge writes, we all happen to be a number of things (short or long-limbed, etc.) but belonging to a racialised background is consequential in ways those other traits are not. And while race is a part of one’s identity, it can disproportionately eclipse the lived and work experience of an individual, through the actions and behaviours of others, institutions and society.
The Equality Act 2010, and its framework of ‘protected characteristics’ represents a legal commitment to equal treatment. Protected characteristics are not arbitrary categories; they recognise aspects of identity that have historically structured access to opportunity, safety and power.
By naming race as a protected characteristic, the law acknowledges that discrimination is not simply interpersonal, but embedded in broader patterns of disadvantage. In moments where far-right narratives question ideas of belonging or equality, these provisions are particularly significant. They provide a baseline of protection against discrimination and a shared language through which harm can be articulated.
At the same time, we know that the law has not always advanced racial justice. Legal systems have often legitimised and reinforced racial inequality. Legal frameworks are shaped by power, and they are not immune to the political climate.
This toolkit does not present the legal system as perfect. The cases we draw on are illustrative examples where individuals secured some measure of redress. They are not comprehensive, nor do they capture the many instances where justice was denied. They are not ‘proof’ that the system works seamlessly. Rather, they show how the law can be used strategically, while acknowledging its limitations.
Who this toolkit is for
This toolkit is for anyone who has experienced race discrimination in the workplace. It is written for people – employees, workers and individuals in work trying to make sense of their experiences and how the law might apply.
People who experience racism at work are often left to interpret complex legal frameworks alone, trying to translate lived experience into statutory language, often while still working within the very environments causing harm. They are left to ‘DIY’ complaints, draft grievances without legal support, and decide whether to escalate matters to tribunal without clear guidance.
There are already many resources and recommendations for organisations and employers about how to create more inclusive workspaces, navigate equality risks, conduct investigations or avoid liability. There is an asymmetric power imbalance inherent in the workplace and employers often have HR departments, legal teams or the financial means to obtain specialist resources. People usually do not. This toolkit is written for those people. How to read this toolkit
We have structured this toolkit into three main parts, so that understanding, application and action are connected:
Part I: Mapping the Employment Law Landscape
This section includes a brief history of the evolution of employment laws and rights in England and Wales. We begin with history and legal context, because employment law does not emerge from nowhere. By situating equality and employment law within that longer history, we hope to make visible how power operates in workplace relationships and why protections matter.
Part II: People’s Stories: Applying the Law to Navigate Race Discrimination at Work
This section tells people’s stories through a selection of legal cases, the circumstances people have navigated, and how legal frameworks have responded. The cases have been selected to reflect the particular lived experiences of people responding to the Spark × Sistren survey. Seeing how courts and tribunals have interpreted and applied the law helps make abstract legal principles feel less distant and clarifies where the law has drawn boundaries.
Part III: Taking Action: A Practical Checklist
This section offers a practical checklist, rooted in the lived experience of people who have navigated complaints procedures at work. It aims to provide actionable steps, while recognising the structural dynamics at play for racialised staff (staff whose race or ethnicity shapes their experience at work), if they decide to take action in response to an experience of race discrimination in the workplace.
Terminology and Language
There is no single agreed set of terms to describe racial identity, and we recognise that people have different preferences when it comes to how they describe themselves and their communities. Throughout this toolkit we use a range of terms, including ‘people of colour’ and ‘racialised’. Within social justice and social sector movements in the UK more broadly, we often use the term ‘global majority’.
By ‘racialised’, we refer to the process through which people are treated differently or disadvantaged because of how race is socially constructed and interpreted. ‘People of colour’ is used as a broad term for individuals who are not considered white in societies structured by racial hierarchies. ‘Global Majority’ refers to the majority of the world’s population – people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and indigenous communities – who are often positioned as ‘minorities’ particularly in western or predominantly white countries.
We recognise that many people may not identify with these terms, may prefer to use different terminology, or may not feel the need to identify with labels of any kind. We invite you to self-identify in whatever way makes you most comfortable and acknowledge that terms we use ourselves may well change over time.
Throughout this toolkit, we have drawn a distinction between ‘racism’ as understood in everyday usage and ‘race discrimination’, which is a specific legal term that is explained later in this toolkit. It should also be noted than when referring to the term ‘race’ under the Equality Act 2010, the meaning of race includes: (a) colour; (b) nationality; (c) ethnic or national origins.
Legal language can sometimes be formal, technical or difficult to follow. Where possible, we’ve tried to explain it in plain terms, though some legal terminology will appear, particularly when we’re discussing court or tribunal decisions.
Trigger warning
This toolkit includes discussion of race discrimination, racial harassment, misogynoir, microaggressions, racial violence, harm, exclusion, retaliation, and the emotional and mental health impacts of these experiences. It includes racist comments shared by respondents to the Spark × Sistren survey to illustrate their experiences of everyday racism, and personal accounts that describe painful and, at times, traumatic experiences.
The purpose of this toolkit is to support understanding, accountability and informed action – not to cause further harm. Some readers may find parts of this content difficult, particularly if they have experienced racism themselves. Please read in a way that works for you – take breaks if needed and engage with the material at your own pace.
Updated: April 2026
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