Insights & News

Gender equality “roadmap” published

04 July 2019

The Government Equalities Office has published a gender equality roadmap, which sets out proposed actions to tackle persistent gendered inequalities. This includes a number of potential changes to employment law.

Influencing for Impact – the Law Society report on the need for gender equality in the legal profession

25 April 2019

2019 marks the 100 year anniversary of women having the right to qualify as solicitors and barristers (as well as serve on juries and act as magistrates).

Neurodiversity, autism and the workplace

01 April 2019

“Neurodiversity” is a relatively new term, but increasing numbers of employers are seeking to plug their skills gap by developing a more neurodiverse workplace.

Tom Heys, Karen Baxter, Anna Bond: Supporting bisexual and transgender employees in their workplace

Press

12 February 2019

Karen Baxter, Tom Heys and Anna Bond have written an article for HR Review discussing a recent survey by Stonewall that found bi and trans inclusivity was significantly low among employers, prompting the charity’s executive director to call for more to be done to tackle this problem in the workplace.

The Court of Appeal has upheld an EAT decision that Asda’s lower-paid, predominantly female retail staff can compare themselves to higher-paid, mainly male, distribution depot staff.

07 February 2019

The Court of Appeal (“CA”) decision is the latest stage in this long-running legal dispute over equal pay. Back in 2014, over 7,000 female Asda retail store workers brought claims in the Employment Tribunal (“ET”) arguing that they were entitled to equal pay with male distribution depot staff, on the basis that their work was of “equal value” to male workers.

Redundancy protection for pregnancy and maternity to be extended?

31 January 2019

The Government has published a consultation paper on extending protection from redundancy for women during pregnancy, women who have returned to work after maternity leave, and new parents.

Refusal to provide cake supporting gay marriage was not direct sexual orientation discrimination

11 October 2018

The Supreme Court (“SC”) has ruled that a bakery did not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when it refused to provide a cake for a customer bearing the words “support gay marriage”. The bakery’s refusal was based on the owner’s Christian beliefs that the only form of marriage acceptable to God was between one man and one woman.

Care workers not entitled to minimum wage for sleep-in shifts

18 July 2018

In a case of huge significance for the care sector, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) has decided that care workers carrying out “sleep-in” shifts are not entitled to the national minimum wage (“NMW”) for the whole shift, but only when they are required to be awake and working.

Colin Leckey comments for economia: Mind the gender pay gap

Press

08 May 2018

In an article for economia, Colin Leckey comments on gender pay gap reporting and why there are pay disparities, even for people doing similar jobs.

Brexit, #metoo and equal pay: the hidden links

09 March 2018

‘Living in the dark ages’ - pregnancy and maternity discrimination at interview

21 February 2018

Fresh out of my first year at university and applying for a summer job at a pub, I was slightly taken aback when the interviewer asked whether I had children, in a tone that implied “no” was the right answer… Back then, with no children, I simply answered the question - but it made me wonder.

Tom Heys comments for The Economist: ‘A legal defeat for a pious prison gardener is good news for bosses’

Press

09 August 2017

Tom Heys has commented in an article for The Economist discussing religious rights at work, in light of a recent case in which an individual failed in his religious discrimination claim after being disciplined for causing offence by quoting Bible passages.

Dressing to impress - discriminatory appearance codes

17 March 2017

Laura Farnsworth and Emma Langhorn have written an article for HR review on discriminatory appearance codes in the workplace.

When is a ban on headscarves at work discriminatory?

16 March 2017

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has given its first ruling on the right to wear an Islamic headscarf at work, in two separate cases which both involved the dismissal of a Muslim employee for refusing to remove her headscarf in breach of the employer’s dress code.

Shared parental leave and sex discrimination

06 October 2016

The first case about the amounts paid to men and women on shared parental leave has been decided by an Employment Tribunal in Glasgow.