These two appeals were heard together because they both raised issues arising from claims of indirect discrimination. Mr Essop, one of a group of 49 people, was required to pass a Core Skills Assessment (CSA) as a pre-requisite to promotion to certain civil service grades.

A 2010 report established that Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) candidates, as well as older candidates, had lower pass rates than white and younger candidates yet it could not be identified why this was so. The appellants argued that the requirement to pass the CSA amounted to indirect discrimination on the grounds of race or age.

Mr Naem was an iman working as a chaplain for the Prison Service. From 2001-2004 he worked on