The Home Office has been branded “one of Britain’s least impressive managements” after an employment tribunal ruled that two interpreters were subjected to years of sexual and racial discrimination.

The department now faces a bill of up to £2.3 million to compensate the two women, who claimed they would have been treated differently if they had been white men.

The tribunal found that they suffered systematic discrimination because of the procrastination of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, and accused more than 100 human resource staff of mismanagement. The attack came at a hearing in London yesterday into the claims of Marti Khan, 48, who is fluent in various Indian languages, and Odette King, 57, who speaks Farsi.

Both worked in Terminal 3 at Heathrow but also travelled to other airports to translate for new arrivals and at detention centres.

The tribunal found that the women had been effectively redundant since 1990, when the Home Office outsourced interpreting to freelances. Officials failed to reassign them to other roles and though they were contracted to work 41 hours a week, they were paid to do nothing or asked to carry out basic clerical duties. They could have remained in that position until retirement had they not complained to managers. Their complaints about the lack of work and that freelances were paid more were ignored by senior officials. They were signed off sick and placed on paid leave but after writing to Charles Clarke, then the Home Secretary, they were dismissed from their £25,000-a-year jobs.

Jeremy McMullen, tribunal judge, ruled that the women were unfairly dismissed and condemned their treatment by the directorate, which John Reid, the Home Secretary, branded “not fit for purpose” last year.

The judge said: “What happens when one of Britain’s least impressive managements, by its sole consistent attitude of procrastination, drives two long-service Asian women to become uncooperative and dismissive? The answer is systemic race and sex discrimination against them and dismissals unfair according to every tenet in the canon.”

Mrs Khan, of Heston, West London, is claiming £970,000 in compensation, including £682,000 for loss of her career, £60,000 for injury to feelings and £30,000 aggravated damages. Mrs King, of Barnes, southwest London, is seeking £550,000, including £302,000 for the loss of her career.

Imtiaz Aziz, their lawyer, said the panel could increase any award by 50 per cent to reflect the Home Office’s breach of statutory grievance procedures.

Both women are also seeking an order that the Home Office find them jobs, although this would cut the compensation.

Mrs King said after the hearing: “This has never been about money for either of us and we feel vindicated by the judge’s damning ruling. We just want to have jobs in the Home Office and are prepared to work in any capacity.”

Mrs Khan said that her department had been like a “ghetto” by the time she and Mrs King were short of work. “It was a total waste of taxpayers’ money to pay me to do nothing whilst at the same time employing [others] at 50 per cent more than my hourly rate to undertake the tasks.”

The Home Office claims that relations with the two women have broken down irretrievably and says that they acted unreasonably in rejecting job offers before they were dismissed.

The panel is expected to announce how much compensation each woman will receive next month.

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