Category Archives: discrimination

  For claims presented on or after the 6th April 2019, awards for injury to feelings in discrimination claims will be made in accordance with the following guidelines:   • lower band (less serious cases): £900 to £8,800 • middle … Continue reading →

15 April 2016: Religious Views and the Workplace: In Wasteney v East London NHS Foundation Trust, a junior employee who happened to be Muslim, complained that her manager was ‘grooming’ her by praying with her in one-to-one’s, laying hands on her, … Continue reading →

27 February 2016: Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC: According to press reports this week, Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon and settled a £100,000 racial discrimination and personal injury claim after an incident last March in … Continue reading →

5 February 2016: Disability and ‘Day to Day Activities’: According to s6 Equality Act 2010, a person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment, and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect the … Continue reading →

5 June 2015: Religious Garments at Work: In January 2013 we reported on Eweida v BA concerning the right of cabin crew on flights to wear a crucifix with their uniform. The European Court of Justice said yes to crucifixes with uniforms, … Continue reading →

8 May 2015: Dismissal and Discriminatory Colleagues:   Last week the Court of Appeal held in CLFIS v Dr Mary Reynolds that it was not discriminatory to dismiss an employee after relying upon the reports of colleagues with discriminatory motivation.   … Continue reading →

17 April 2015: Zero hours worker gets £19,500 for injury to feelings for harassment:   In Southern v Britannia Hotels Ltd reported this week, an employment tribunal awarded £19,500 for injury to feelings to a zero hours worker who was subjected … Continue reading →

20 March 2015: Diet-Controlled Type 2 Diabetes was not a Disability: Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly common medical problem, and many would assume that it amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010.   Under the Act, ‘disability’ means … Continue reading →

12 December 2014: Disability Discrimination – What’s in a Name? There are some names which seem strangely apt, such as that Mark Avery of the RSPB, Belgian footballer Mark De Man, lawmaker Lord Judge and gardener Bob Flowerdew (see BBC article). … Continue reading →

18 July 2014: The short answer is that severe obesity is likely to be a disability under the Equality Act 2010. In Kaltoft v Municipality of Billund the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has given the opinion … Continue reading →

13 June 2014: The short answer, is no, following the Court of Appeal decision in  Hainsworth v Ministry of Defence.   Ms Ainsworth worked for the British Armed Forces as a civilian based in Germany. Her daughter had Down’s syndrome … Continue reading →

30 May 2014:  According to the Guardian newspaper this week, the British Social Attitudes survey shows that the percentage of people who describe themselves as prejudiced against those of other races has risen overall since 2001. People admitting to some … Continue reading →

21 March 2014: Right to Work in the UK: It is an offence to employ someone without having taken the proper steps to check their right to work in the UK and the checks an employer has to carry out … Continue reading →

7 March 2014: Statutory Discrimination Questionnaires on their way out: For many years, employees have been able to issue statutory discrimination questionnaires to ask questions and to request certain documents, to assist them in deciding whether to bring a claim of … Continue reading →

13 December 2013: Under the Equality Act, employers have an obligation to consider and implement reasonable adjustments to facilitate disabled employees in their role.   It is not always clear if someone is disabled, and the employers obligation to make reasonable adjustments … Continue reading →

6 December 2013: Many employers are faced with the dilemma of how long to wait before taking steps to dismiss someone on long term sick leave.   Useful guidance has been given this week in the Scottish Court of Session in … Continue reading →

18 October 2013: When making staff redundant, many employers will give enhanced redundancy payments based on length of service and age. For example the statutory redundancy payment allows staff 1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year worked over the age … Continue reading →

13 September 2013: Picture the scene; a customer comes in and racially abuses your receptionist. The next week he does the same thing all over again. Your receptionist sues you as the employer for third party harassment. Are you liable? … Continue reading →

5 April 2013 In Walker v Sita Information Networking Computing Ltd, Mr Walker weighed over 21 stone and suffered from a wide range of symptoms, many of which were exacerbated by obesity.   The Tribunal held that Mr Walker was … Continue reading →

10 May 2013 Many employees base discrimination claims about the general gripes about how they are treated. Some employees will throw in all claims they can possibly think of, kitchen sink and all and call it ‘discrimination’. However in the … Continue reading →

7 June 2013: ‘Will no one Rid Me of this Turbulent Priest?’ Thomas Beckett may have got himself murdered in the Cathedral in 1170 after King Henry uttered the famous line quoted above, however for modern day employers, this solution is … Continue reading →

This is an example of one of our archived weekly email bulletins on employment law. It should not be relied upon without specific legal advice. To subscribe to our free weekly bulletin service, click on the button on the left. … Continue reading →

July 2010: The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 was originally brought in to force to combat the likes of stalkers and similar pests.   However subsequent case law suggests that the Act may be invoked to protect employees against harassment … Continue reading →

July 2010: The Equality Act comes into effect on the 1st October 2010, with some provisions being delayed till 2011. I will not attempt to summarise all of the provisions of the Act. However Some of the main points to be … Continue reading →