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Human rights
The Supreme Court has held that the owners of a bed and breakfast, whose religious beliefs include that sexual relations outside heterosexual marriage are sinful, could not justify their refusal to give civil partners a room with a double bed, in this important discrimination case on the conflict between sexual orientation laws and the right to manifest religious beliefs.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that a Greek employer breached the human rights of an HIV-positive employee who was dismissed as a result of pressure from colleagues.
Victoria Bell is a managing associate and Chris McAvoy, Poppy Fildes, Rosie Kight and Helen Samuel are associate solicitors at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
The Court of Appeal has held that the system for the disclosure of individuals' criminal records to employers breaches the European Convention on Human Rights.
The European Court of Human Rights has held that a Christian employee's right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion under art.9 of the European Convention on Human Rights was breached when the UK courts found that she was not discriminated against by British Airways' uniform policy, which prevented her from wearing visible items of jewellery at work.
The Court of Appeal has held that the "band of reasonable responses" test for determining unfair dismissal claims does not need to be modified where an employee's rights under art.8 of the European Convention on Human Rights are engaged as a result of his or her dismissal.
The European Court of Human Rights has said that it was a breach of a BNP member's human rights for him not to have the opportunity to claim unfair dismissal on the basis that he was sacked for his "political opinion". He did not have the required one year's service in force at the time to bring a claim.
The Court of Appeal has held that an NHS trust's decision to dismiss a doctor, which made it more difficult for him to practise in his chosen profession, did not engage his right to a fair and public hearing under the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that it was not a reasonable adjustment for the subjective redundancy selection criteria by which a disabled employee who was at risk of redundancy was judged to be removed from the process.
The High Court has held that art.6 of the European Convention on Human Rights was not engaged in internal disciplinary proceedings where the employee was not, as a result, deprived of the right to practise his profession.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to human rights.