March 2023 Employment and Discrimination newsletter out now!

Welcome to March's newsletter 

Spring into March with the newsletter from 3PB Employment and Discrimination barristers. The group have been busy analysing and discussing a vast range of cases:

Alex Leonhardt looks at the case of Earl Shilton Town Council v Miller, in which the EAT considered the application of direct discrimination in circumstances where both staff of both sexes shared nominally the same toilet facilities.

Grace Nicholls looks at how the absence of a bounce back email saved a
Claimant's appeal in Hawkes v Oxford Economics Limited [2022].

Andrew MacPhail looks at Cook v Gentoo Group Limited [2023], and whether a rushed dismissal can be considered to be age discrimination.

3PB Pupil Barrister Emma Greening discusses Mr T Smith v Tesco Stores Limited [2023] and that tribunals remain "open to the difficult" but perhaps in this case, not the persistently uncooperative.

Finally, Faizul Azman, an intellectual property barrister at 3PB gives an insight into Intellectual Property considerations and employment law. 

Soaring childcare costs are forcing working parents into impossible decisions

Prohibitively expensive childcare costs are resulting in parents having to make impossible decisions about staying in the workplace.

Research by Trade Union Congress found that part-time nursery fees have increased by 44% since 2010. According to the OCED the UK has the second highest childcare costs among leading economies.

Deadline extension on ET and EAT consultation paper 

The deadline for responses to a consultation paper seeking views on the composition of employment tribunal and the EAT has been extended until 27 April 2023.

The Senior Presidents of Tribunals questions include whether cases currently heard by a panel should instead default to Judge alone, whether unfair dismissal claims should continue to be judge alone be default and whether EAT hearings should continue to be judge alone by default.

'Fake' Flexible Working causing havoc for parents in the workplace 

A recent study by Careering into Motherhood has found that, of 2,000 working mothers surveyed, 65% feel they have fewer career options open to them after they return from maternity leave.

Near to 50% also reported that prospects of promotion were negatively impacted by flexible working plans.

EAT considers toilet provisions in sex discrimination claim

Alex Leonhardt looks at the case of Earl Shilton Town Council v Miller, in which the EAT considered the application of direct discrimination in circumstances where both staff of both sexes shared nominally the same toilet facilities.

Absence of bounce back email saves Claimant’s appeal

Grace Nicholls analyses the case Hawkes v Oxford Economics Limited [2022] EAT 179 in which an appeal was brought against a Registrar’s order from April 2022 in which an extension of time to present an appeal was refused.

A rushed dismissal undertaken with a view to avoiding the financial consequences of an age trigger being reached

Andrew MacPhail considers the case Cook v Gentoo Group Limited [2023] EAT 12 where the EAT had to consider whether the ET had erred in dismissing a direct age discrimination claim.

Tribunals remain “open to the difficult” … but perhaps not the persistently uncooperative 

Emma Greening looks at Mr T Smith v Tesco Stores Ltd [2023] EAT 11 in
which the EAT upheld a decision to strike out a claim where the claimant, who was a litigant in person, acted in a manner that was considered vexatious.

Intellectual Property considerations within employment law 

3PB Intellectual Property barrister Faizul Azman provides an insightful article which aims to provide both employers and employees with a general understanding of intellectual property rights in a copyright work created in the course of employment.

Meet the team

3PB’s employment law group offers expert advisory and advocacy services to private and public sector employers across all areas of employment law including unfair dismissal, discrimination, equal pay, industrial disputes, executive contracts, wrongful dismissals, restrictive covenants, whistleblowing, TUPE, injunctions, pensions disputes and disciplinary proceedings.