BACKGROUND: Czikai v FreemantleMedia Ltd was an interesting case involving a failed appearance on a popular talent show and how an audition doesn’t give you the same employment rights as a job interview.
The claimant Miss C was a contestant on the ITV television show Britain’s Got Talent. After failing at her first audition on the show, Miss C attributed her poor performance to her swollen arms and fatigue as a result of her suffering from fibromyalgia.
She sought to claim disability discrimination against the television company in an employment tribunal on the basis that her audition was actually a job interview.
OUTCOME: The tribunal decided that Miss C could not claim disability discrimination against the television company, a decision that was upheld on appeal. Her claim for victimisation was also rejected as the tribunal did not believe she was victimised in relation to her disability.
Miss C could not claim under the ‘employment’ provision of the Disability Discrimination Act as her participation in the show was not a job interview and the audition was not a recruitment exercise.
Despite the fact some individuals on the show may eventually be offered an employment contract, the audition she was attending was NOT to gain employment. You can almost hear Simon Cowell breathing a huge sigh of relief!