Equality, diversity and human rights
The Fair Employment Tribunal in Northern Ireland has found that a small business owner committed age discrimination against an employee after she refused to enter into a joint arrangement with him relating to the purchase of land.
Ceri Hughes, David Parry, and Carly Mather, associates at Addleshaw Goddard, detail the latest rulings.
In McFarlane v Relate Avon Ltd [2010] EWCA Civ B1, the Court of Appeal refused a Christian relationship counsellor leave to appeal against a finding that his dismissal for refusing to counsel same-sex couples on sexual matters did not constitute religious discrimination.
This case deals with a common issue in redundancy situations: the discounting of disability-related absences when scoring against a "sickness absence" criterion.
Niki Walker, managing associate at Addleshaw Goddard, details the latest rulings.
In City of Edinburgh Council v Dickson EATS/0038/09, the EAT upheld the employment tribunal's decision that an employee whose employer failed properly to consider his explanation that he had behaved out of character during a hypoglycaemic episode was unfairly dismissed. However, the tribunal's conclusion that the employer's rejection of that explanation amounted to direct and disability-related discrimination was wrong in law and was overturned.
In Kücükdeveci v Swedex GmbH & Co KG [2010] IRLR 346 ECJ, the ECJ held that German law that excludes employment below the age of 25 when calculating minimum statutory notice periods based on length of service amounts to unjustified age discrimination contrary to the Equal Treatment Framework Directive.
In Eweida v British Airways Plc [2010] IRLR 322 CA, the Court of Appeal held that a uniform policy that prevented the wearing of a visible item of adornment around the neck did not give rise to indirect discrimination against a Christian employee who wished to display a cross as a matter of personal preference, rather than as a mandatory religious requirement.
Richard Ryan, associate, Helen Ward, associate, and Tori O'Neil, trainee solicitor, Addleshaw Goddard, detail the latest rulings.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an employment tribunal that held that an employee had been discriminated against on the ground of sexual orientation had failed properly to take into account, among other facts, that the employee had actively “come out” while working at a different office.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to equality, diversity and human rights.