An employment tribunal (so not a binding precedent) has accepted a claim for indirect disability discrimination by the carer of a disabled person asked to give up a home-working contract. The claimant was the carer for her disabled mother. She had a ‘home working contract’ though it seems she was in the office 2-3 days... Read more »
The Court of Appeal held that a fostering and adoption charity had not shown justification for requiring carers to abstain from homosexual activity. The case concerned a charity whose aim was to recruit evangelical Christians to foster or adopt children. Recruits were expected to sign a statement of beliefs and abstain from ‘homosexual behaviour’. Under... Read more »
The EAT rejected a claim that it would have been a reasonable adjustment for a teacher to continue on the same salary long-term, after she became instead a cover supervisor due to mental ill health. A teacher had a period of absence due to mental ill health. She came back to work three days a... Read more »
The European Court has again considered ‘neutrality’ as a possible reason for employers not to allow workers to wear of signs of religious and other beliefs. The EU Court of Justice (ECJ) has held that an employer may be able to justify a rule banning at least customer-facing staff at work from wearing any visible... Read more »
We are continuing to update our Coronavirus (Covid-19) page. The page is at Coronavirus (Covid-19). Recent updates include: We have made available on that page a special report ‘Covid-19 – back to work’ published (online first) in the August/September 2021 issue of our journal Occupational Health [at Work]. With workplaces returning to ‘normal’ as Covid-19... Read more »
The Supreme Court has held that the Equality Act did not alter the law on shift in burden of proof. Under s.136 Equality Act 2010, if there are facts from which the court could decide, in the absence of any other explanation, that a person (eg an employer) contravened the Act. the court must hold... Read more »
New web page added on this, including illustrative tribunal case on Covid-19. We have added a separate page on Unfair dismissal: unsafe working conditions. This is particularly about legal protection for a worker who (broadly) leaves his place of work in circumstances of danger which he reasonably believes to be serious and imminent, or takes... Read more »
The EAT has held a belief that biological sex is immutable to be a ‘philosophical belief’ protected under the Equality Act. However this was a different issue to how far the claimant had the right to manifest her belief. The EAT said that a requirement that the belief be worthy of respect in a democratic... Read more »
The Equality and Human Rights Commission took action in respect of unlawful enquiries by a care agency. The care agency’s job application asked about attendance at work and whether applicants had ever had certain health conditions. See Investigation finds care agency’s recruitment practices were unlawful (equalityhumanrights.com), May 2021. Under s.60 EqA it is unlawful for... Read more »
There has been a tribunal case on harassment related to the menopause, and the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has issued new guidance on the menopause. In May 2021 the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland issued new guidance on the menopause and employment www.equalityni.org/Footer-Links/News/Employers-Service-Providers/Menopause-a-Workplace-Issue Also, in 2020 there was an employment tribunal case (not a... Read more »
