Legal News

Updates on this include new GDPR guidance from the Information Commissioner. It is still unknown what deal (if any) will be struck between the UK and the EU27. However we have updated our Brexit page to reflect the current situation. The Information Commissioner’s Office has published substantial guidance on GDPR and Brexit, including in the... Read more »
The Information Commissioner’s Office has published new guidance on this in relation to GDPR. The guidance is at https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/controllers-and-processors/ We have updated our page GDPR: the controller to reflect the new guidance. An external OH provider is likely to be responsible as a data controller (rather than just a processor) under the GDPR.
The EAT implied a contractual term restricting the employer’s right to dismiss an employee entitled under such a scheme, and said breach of the term would be very relevant in an unfair dismissal claim. The scheme was backed by insurance companies, but the claimant’s disability payments were being met by the employer because his department... Read more »
A disabled worker taking ill health retirement was treated more favourably than non-disabled workers, but less favourably than someone who had not reduced their hours due to disability. In Williams v Trustees of Swansea University Pension & Assurance Scheme (www.supremecourt.uk), the claimant received an enhanced pension because he was no longer able to work due... Read more »
Diana Kloss looks at discrimination based on a fear that a job applicant may develop a disability in the future, in the light of Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey. Cuts in public expenditure have led to a substantial reduction in the numbers of police officers. As a result, police forces are reluctant to appoint... Read more »
A woman dismissed after an incident at work which arose from effects of the menopause has won a claim for disability discrimination. The woman is a Court Officer. She had severe symptoms from the menopause, and her employer agreed various adjustments to her work. It conceded she had a disability. She was dismissed because of... Read more »
The EAT upheld the tribunal’s right to decide whether there was dishonesty in deciding if a claimant with dissociative amnesia had a ‘tendency to steal’. A ‘tendency to steal’ is excluded from being a disability under Equality Act 2010. In Wood v Durham County Council (bailii.org) it seems to have been accepted that this would... Read more »
On the facts of the case, a tribunal was entitled to find it was not EqA harassment to call a colleague a ‘fat ginger pikey’. A sales rep claimed disability (and racial) harassment contrary to the Equality Act for having been called a ‘fat ginger pikey’ and various other things at work. The office culture... Read more »