Discrimination News

Joseph England successful in EAT appeal concerning the discrimination burden of proof and reasonable adjustments

20th September 2022

Lucas v Cosmeceuticals Ltd [2022] EAT 141 Heard in Scotland before Lord Fairley, the EAT dismissed the appeal and found in favour of the Respondent, represented by 3PB’s Joseph England. The judgment can be found here. The principal ground of appeal concerned a s.15 Equality Act 2010 claim and the link between the Claimant’s dismissal and the ‘something arising’ in consequence of the Claimant’s disability. The Employment Tribunal made a finding that there had been...

The past 30 days have provided much for the employment law world to write about, starting with the success of 3PB’s Mathew Gullick QC, Lachlan Wilson and Naomi Webber in the Supreme Court in The Harper Trust v Brazel case; and Mathew Gullick QC earning the accolade of the Times’ “Lawyer of the Week” in the process.

Welcome to June's employment law newsletter In the June edition of our newsletter, we highlight the government's forthcoming reform of exclusivity clauses and the start in the UK of the world's largest 4-day week trial.  Case law analysis is provided by our members and pupils: - Oliver Hirsch analyses Knightly v Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2022] EAT 63 in which the EAT considers if an employer who fails to make reasonable adjustments to its dismissal...

Welcome to May's Employment Law newsletter Spring is here: whilst April saw unseasonably dry conditions in a meteorological sense, there has been a metaphorical flood of interest and debate taking place as to what the future may, and should, hold in terms of remote and flexible working as we appear to embark upon what may be regarded as a post-pandemic era. News items in this edition cover:  - The CIPD Survey on attitudes to home working...

Welcome to March's newsletter In this edition of our employment law newsletter, our news section considers the impact of the lifting of the last Covid restrictions on employers; updated Acas guidance for bereavement and the Home Office's postponement of the digital right-to-work checks.  Legal analysis is provided by our members: - Alex Leonhardt looks at the limits of “firing and re-hiring”, with his analysis of USDAW & Ors v Tesco Stores Limited [2022] EWHC 201 (QB); - Andrew...

  Welcome to September's employment law newsletter As we settle back into work after the summer break, our news section looks at - a new consultation by the ICO on employers’ use of personal data; - whether people working from home should take a pay cut; - a checklist of what employers should do to make a success of hybrid work; - the pros and cons of workation policies; - Scotland's forthcoming 4-day week trial and finally; - when the...

Joseph England takes a closer look at s.109(4) EA 2010 as a statutory defence for discrimination

10th February 2021

3PB’s specialist employment law barrister Joseph England (pictured here) has reviewed the case of Allay (UK) Limited v Gehlen in which the employer used s.109(4) Equality Act 2010 as a statutory defence. s.109(4) EA 2010 provides a defence for an employer when discrimination has been found if they took “all reasonable steps” to prevent that or similar discrimination. The case is especially prominent because s.109(4) EA 2010 is rarely used and Gehlen provides important guidance...

Employment law case update out now

26th January 2021

This month's round up of all the latest employment case law is now available in both podcast and video form! Karen Moss and Grace Nicholls take you through their analyses of two of the most significant cases decided in December 2020. Karen talks about Quilter Private Client Advisers v Falconer and Continuum (Financial Services) LLP; whilst Grace takes us through Steer v Stormsure Ltd in the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Quilter and Falconer is a case...

Podcast out now for PI and employment law webinar

21st December 2020

3PB employment barristers Sarah Clarke and Grace Nicholls provide an overview of personal injury claims arising out of discrimination. This podcast includes: • the legal test applicable • interaction with other forms of non-pecuniary loss • practical considerations/valuation; and • the Employment Tribunal v the County Court?

Daniel Brown edits the Employment and Discrimination team's October newsletter

6th October 2020

Daniel Brown has edited 3PB's October Employment and Discrimination newsletter, including contributions from Matthew Curtis, Sarah Clarke, Simon Tibbitts, Stephen Wyeth, Karen Moss, Grace Boorer, Lachlan Wilson, Grace Nicholls, Andrew MacPhail and Charlotte Hadfield. The newsletter brings you 3PB news, recordings as well as our case and legal analysis. You are also invited to register to attend our 8 October webinar on injunctions, restrictive covenants and team moves. Click here to view the newsletter. News...

3PB Barristers specialist employment and discrimination barristers Lachlan Wilson and Daniel Brown have just delivered the webinar, “Preparing for redundancies” to over 200 employment lawyers. Recent figures showed 300,000 redundancies in the UK simply during June and July 2020. Next month -October – sees the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)  goes down to 60% of wages with employers contributing 20% and finishes at the end of the month.  Many companies face continued drop off in...

Employment barristers Karen Moss and Grace Boorer presented today's employment law webinar on disability discrimination. You can view the webinar below. Karen gave an updated overview of liability under Section 15 Equality Act 2010 including the most recent authorities. She focused on how tribunals approach a claim of discrimination arising from disability encompassing: Requisite knowledge under s.15 cf. failure to make reasonable adjustments, considering Baldeh v Churches Housing Association of Dudley and District and Tesco...