The Court of Appeal has handed down its decision in the long running saga of whether or not we should be applying the 10% uplift in damages established by the Court of Appeal in Simmons v Castle in the employment tribunal. The case of De Souza v Vinci Construction (UK) Ltd was heard before the EAT […]
Tag: discrimination claims
Discrimination arising from disability
The Claimant brought a claim of discrimination arising from disability following his dismissal in the recent case of Risby v London Borough of Waltham Forest. The employee was a wheelchair user. His employer changed the venue for a course to one which was inaccessible to him as a wheelchair user. The employee lost his temper. […]
Banning the Hijab?
The Advocate General has recently given an opinion that the employer who banned a hijab when in contact with clients acted unlawfully and had committed an act of direct discrimination. The case was a French case brought before the recent issues over dress in France. The employee was a female engineer. She was a practising […]
New ACAS Equality Guides
ACAS has published three new guides on equality which are detailed and set out the best practices for businesses to follow in the areas equality. The three guides are entitled: Equality and Discrimination: Understanding the Basics Prevent Discrimination: Support Equality Discrimination: What to do if it happens The guides can be found here and […]
Reasonable adjustments
Following on from my earlier post on reasonable adjustments, there has been a recent EAT case concerning what is a reasonable adjustment in the workplace. In the case of Dyer v London Ambulance NHS Trust, the employee had a potentially life-threatening reaction to aerosols and perfume and answered 999 calls in a busy control room. […]
Reasonable adjustments
It has long been established that an employer is under a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employers. The case of Coleman v Attridge Law held that those with direct discrimination claims do not themselves need to be disabled but can be associated with a disabled person. In that case it was Mrs Coleman’s […]
Illegality and discrimination
An employee working under an illegal contract may be prevented from relying on statutory or contractual employment rights. As far back as 1978, it was held that it was against public policy for employees with illegal contracts to pursue an unfair dismissal claim. The position as to discrimination claims is less clear. The cases are […]
Avoiding discrimination claims
Discrimination law has a purpose and is designed to: Ensure equality of opportunity at work Protect employees’ dignity Ensure that complaints can be raised without fear of reprisal Most employers want to do the right thing but some can get it wrong or not have this same ethos. What are the consequences for failing to comply with […]
Third party harassment
One controversial part of the Equality Act 2010 was s40 which covered third party harassment and the liability for employers to their staff when third parties harass them in the work place. This section will be repealed on 1st October 2013, albeit in the transitional provisions acts of harassment which occur before 1st October 2013 […]