Equality, diversity and human rights
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that the employment tribunal was entitled to find that a gay barrister was discriminated against when he discovered a memorandum that made derogatory comments about his sexual orientation.
Chris McAvoy, Sarah Wade, David Rintoul, Helen Corbett and Kristin Aarvik are associate solicitors at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
In this case, the employment tribunal awarded an NHS worker, who was dismissed from his senior position in the NHS, close to £1m for race discrimination, despite the tribunal's refusal to increase the award for future loss of earnings on the basis of the worker's argument that he might have been promoted before he retired.
Employees involved in interviewing should be wary of potential discrimination issues, as this case involving religion or belief discrimination shows.
This Northern Ireland industrial tribunal decision is a good example of how an employer can indirectly discriminate against a female job applicant by making it a requirement to have a number of years' relevant experience within a narrow time frame, something that is more difficult for women who have been raising a family to achieve.
In Cherfi v G4S Security Services Ltd EAT/0379/10, the EAT held that an employer's refusal for business reasons to allow a Muslim security guard to leave the workplace to attend a mosque on Fridays was proportionate and justified. Accordingly, it did not amount to unlawful indirect religious discrimination.
This employment tribunal has awarded a former NHS doctor one of the largest ever discrimination payouts after she was subjected to a sustained campaign of sex and race discrimination. The tribunal found the NHS trust and three senior managers, one of whom was the HR director, jointly and severally liable for compensation.
In this case, the tribunal had to consider whether or not a Jehovah's Witness was discriminated against on the ground of his religion when he was dismissed after refusing to work on Sundays.
The employment tribunal in this case found that it was not age discrimination for the civil service to place limits on the amount that it would pay under a voluntary "early-release scheme" designed to encourage turnover in the workforce.
Tori O'Neil, Tessa Harland, Sarah Wade and Ed Gregory are 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.