Orders for standard disclosure or specific disclosure in employment tribunals can only cover documents that are disclosable under the test set out in Rule 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules. It is an error of law for an employment tribunal to order disclosure under any different or lower threshold, such as what is ‘relevant’ or… >>
An employment tribunal has ruled that a Christian employee’s beliefs that gender cannot be fluid and that an individual cannot change their biological sex do constitute protected beliefs under the Equality Act 2010. Higgs v Farmor’s School (ET/1401264/19) What are the practical implications of this judgment? In previous tribunal decisions, such as Forstater, and Mackereth,… >>
This decision of the Court of Appeal confirms that, where a student or applicant has a discrimination claim against a university, those claimants must issue their claims in the County Court and not the Employment Tribunal (ET). This means that they will have to pay an issue fee. The judgment considered the drafting of section… >>
In a claim for indirect discrimination, an employer seeking to show justification (a) may not rely solely on the saving or avoidance of cost as a legitimate aim, but (b) may rely on the need to reduce its expenditure (and specifically its staff costs) in order to balance its books, i.e. where it is compelled… >>
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has issued a statement which replaces previous guidance relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) measures for PRA-regulated firms, in light of updates from the UK government. The PRA states that firms should continue to follow relevant guidance, including updates on GOV.UK/coronavirus, to ensure they comply with any restrictions. This includes following advice… >>
Under section 120(7) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) a claim of discrimination, harassment and/or victimisation may not be brought against a qualifications body in an employment tribunal if, under any Act or statutory instrument, there exists a mechanism whereby an appeal (or ‘proceedings in the nature of an appeal’) may be brought in… >>
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has opened a statutory inquiry into racial inequality of ethnic minority workers in health and social care roles. The inquiry will focus on ethnic minority workers in lower paid roles in Great Britain. It will look at experiences from 1 January 2019 to date and will seek to understand how… >>
A party may invite an employment tribunal to reconsider a judgment on its own initiative, even if that party is out of time to request a reconsideration itself and may not then be considered to have made an application for reconsideration, according to the EAT. Banerjee v Royal Bank of Canada (UKEAT/0189/19/JOJ) What are the… >>
In a constructive dismissal claim, the employee’s acceptance of a repudiatory breach by their employer does not have to be done by an express resignation and may be implied from all of the circumstances, according to the EAT. Chemcem Scotland v Ure (UKEATS/0036/19/SS) What are the practical implications of this judgment? This judgment confirms that,… >>
