The claimant saw her current workplace as having caused her mental health condition, and felt unable to return there. The reasonable adjustment duty was held to apply. The claimant was a Professor at a School of Engineering. She felt she was subject to sex discrimination, and was absent from January 2010 with work-related stress and... Read more »
On a claim under s.15 Equality Act, the disability-related reason need not be the only, or even the main, reason for the unfavourable treatment. A nurse with knee arthritis was applying for a new job. Her prospective employer got references from two previous employers. One reference raised doubts about her general capabilities. The other reference... Read more »
The Court of Appeal held that in deciding whether a non-UK employee could bring a British employment claim, the fact his contract was governed by English law was relevant as one factor to be considered. In Green v SIG Trading (www.bailii.org) the claimant had lived in the Middle East for over 15 years, and was... Read more »
The Court of Appeal held an employer liable for an assault by its managing director at impromptu drinks following a company Christmas party. The assault on one of the company’s employees left the latter with brain damage. It happened during drinks at a hotel, which some staff had gone on to after the party. When... Read more »
The Supreme Court has held it is not discrimination for a bakery in Northern Ireland to refuse to make a cake saying ‘Support gay marriage’. The bakery’s objection was to the message, not to any particular person or persons. The bakery would have been willing to supply a different cake to that customer, and would... Read more »
In deciding whether an individual claiming EqA victimisation acted in bad faith, the primary question was whether they acted honestly in making the allegation. The claimant was likely to fail his final assessment to become a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, and raised a grievance about a racist remark allegedly made some four years previously. He claimed... Read more »
The Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the GMC to disclose an expert report to a patient despite the patient’s data being mixed with personal data of a doctor, who objected to its disclosure. A patient had complained to the General Medical Council about his GP. An expert report was produced in which personal... Read more »
The EAT held a written warning under a sickness absence policy to be in breach of the Equality Act (EqA), after the employer failed to consult OH. Following some years of absences in excess of the sickness policy trigger point, the employer gave the claimant a 12-month written warning for being absent because of sickness.... Read more »
NHS job applicants are now protected if they made (or appear to have made) a protected disclosure in previous NHS employment. New regulations took effect in May 2018 making it unlawful for NHS employers to discriminate against an applicant because it appears to them that the applicant made a protected disclosure. These are The Employment... Read more »
Diana Kloss’s latest blog looks at implications of a Court of Appeal decision which held an employer liable for actions of a GP providing pre-placement medical examinations. In current occupational health practice, in-house directly employed OH departments are becoming less common and independent OH providers are taking over. OH professionals, especially nurses, may be directly... Read more »
