A landmark discrimination case launched against the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) by an unpaid volunteer has been rejected by the Court of Appeal.

The Employment Tribunal first ruled in favour of Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau in November 2009 after a volunteer, known only as X, claimed that she had been treated less favourably due to her disability. Her case relied on European Equal Treatment Legislation which covers those in "occupation", a term that she claimed should cover volunteers.

But the Court of Appeal rejected the volunteer's appeal against the decision yesterday, with judges voting unanimously that volunteers were not covered under this legislation.

The decision means that volunteers are still not protected by the European Equal Treatment Legislation or the UK's Disability Discrimination Act 1995, although the latter does protect volunteers from discrimination if there is a contract between the volunteer and the organisation.

As volunteer X did not have a contract with CAB and did not receive remuneration which would infer a contract was held, she was not covered by the Disability Discrimination Act. 

Appeal judge Lord Justice Elias said: "Volunteers are extensively employed throughout Europe and it is unrealistic to believe that they were intended to be covered by concepts of employment and occupation which would not normally embrace them."

Counsel Jason Galbraith-Marten, representing CAB, said the decision was a significant victory for the voluntary sector: "Much of the sector is reliant on volunteers and cannot shoulder the financial burden which enhanced rights for volunteers such as X would bring," he said.