Publications

The Employment Appeal Tribunal in the case of Aleem v E-Act Academy Trust has ruled that providing an employee with her previous higher rate of pay when she moved to a different lower-paid job due to her disability was not considered to be a reasonable adjustment.

The case of Royal Mail Group Ltd v Efobi reviewed whether Section 136 (2) of the Equality Act 2010 (“Section 136 (2)”) had altered the burden of proof in employment cases alleging discrimination. Mr Efobi, the Claimant in this case, was arguing that the Equality Act had removed the burden of proof from Claimants to demonstrate that on the balance of possibilities, in the absence of an adequate explanation, an unlawful act of discrimination had been committed and instead created a neutral burden.

On 11 July 2019, the Government opened a consultation to review sexual harassment in the workplace on the back of the #metoo movement. That consultation closed on 2 October 2019 and given the intervening pandemic, the Government has only just released their response. This has confirmed that the Government intends to introduce a duty requiring employers to prevent sexual harassment.

Managing absent employees can be a long process, particularly where the absence is as a result of a disability. It can be tempting for employers to rely on medical evidence that is not current with a view to bringing matters to a close sooner but as the recent case of Brightman v TIAA Limited has held, this can have an impact on any later objective justification defence.

BrewDog, the craft brewers, have been in the media spotlight recently amidst allegations of having a toxic workplace culture and bullying claims from their employees. Media sources have indicated that BrewDog has apologised to its employees in light of these allegations; however, allegations of bullying or having a toxic workplace are something that can many employers can face from time to time. In this article we review the best ways for employers to deal with these allegations should they arise.

The Employment Tribunal has found that an employee had been unfairly dismissed for raising health and safety issues with their employer, about a lack of PPE or other workplace COVID- secure measures, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A landmark ruling has recently been handed down by the President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal, in which Justice Choudhury, ruled that employment tribunal’s judgments must take childcare disparity into account, particularly in respect of indirect discrimination claims. 

The international travel ban in the UK, which has been in place for the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic, was lifted by the UK government on 17 May 2021. However, with the introduction of the government’s traffic light system on international travel, including the potential for quarantine or self-isolation requirements, it could be a difficult summer for employers to navigate.

An Employment Tribunal has found in favour of an employee, Mr Kane, in his claim for unfair dismissal, when his employer, Debmat Surfacing Ltd, took the decision to dismiss him, when he was allegedly seen at a pub during a period of sick leave from work.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently handed down its decision in the case of Forstater v Centre for Global Development, which is going to have a considerable impact upon comments in relation to transgendered persons, harassment and free speech.

In response to the rise of “long COVID” cases in the UK, ACAS has recently published new guidance on long COVID for both employers and employees/workers to consider.

An Employment Tribunal has recently ruled that an employee had been fairly dismissed when he failed to attend his workplace due to Covid-19 concerns.