Equality, diversity and human rights
In the final chapter of this long-running case on the justification of a compulsory retirement age for partners in a law firm, the employment tribunal applied Supreme Court guidance and concluded that a requirement for partners to step down at 65 was justified.
In this week's case of the week, provided by DLA Piper, the European Court of Justice held that keeping differences in pay in the "interests of good industrial relations" cannot, by itself, be a sufficient justification, although can be one factor taken into account if there are other justifications.
In this well-publicised race discrimination case, a job applicant engineered a tribunal claim by submitting two applications for a job with Virgin Atlantic: the first using his real African name and stating that he is a black African; the second using a fake British-sounding name and stating his ethnicity as white British.
This employment tribunal held that a Christian telesales agent's belief that potential customers should not be deceived to obtain sales could be protected under the Equality Act 2010. However, the claimant lost his case because he did not present sufficient evidence that his former employer had required him to lie to potential customers.
In this age discrimination case, the police successfully defended a claim by a police officer who left after being chosen for redeployment, but not before the employment tribunal described its cost-cutting exercise as "shambolic" and "to some degree incompetent".
This case is a useful early example, along with Williams v Ystrad Mynach College ET/1600019/11, of how employment tribunals are approaching the new concept of "discrimination arising from disability" under the Equality Act 2010. The claimant fell at the first hurdle by failing to demonstrate a link between his disability and his treatment by the employer.
The European Court of Justice has confirmed that a reduction in working hours can be regarded as reasonable accommodation for disabled workers where the reduction makes it possible for the worker to continue in employment and does not represent a disproportionate burden on the employer.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has provided guidance on remedies for discrimination claims, including injury to feelings and aggravated damages.
This Northern Ireland tribunal case about the definition of disability considers the dividing line between an individual having a learning disability and simply having difficulty with literacy or numeracy.
Claire Thomas is managing associate, and Chris McAvoy, Joelle Parkinson, David Rintoul, and Gerri Hurst associates at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to equality, diversity and human rights.