Equality, diversity and human rights

New and updated

• Date:

  10 July 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  HM Prison Service and others v Ibimidun; Ibimidun v HM Prison Service and others

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an employee who was dismissed when he brought tribunal proceedings in order to harass his employer, rather than to receive compensation, was not protected by the victimisation provisions of the Race Relations Act 1976.

• Date:

  11 June 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Sex discrimination: No obligation to communicate risk assessment findings in writing

  In Stevenson v JM Skinner & Co EAT/0584/07, the EAT held that an employer complied with its statutory duty to carry out a risk assessment in relation to a pregnant employee when it addressed her concerns at meetings with her and, taking account of all the circumstances, evaluated and agreed the relevant risks.

• Date:

  28 May 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Pregnancy dismissal: Fertilised but non-implanted ova did not constitute pregnancy

  In Mayr v Bäckerei und Konditorei Gerhard Flockner OHG [2008] IRLR 387, the ECJ held that the protection afforded by the Pregnant Workers Directive against dismissal on grounds of pregnancy does not extend to a woman undergoing IVF treatment who was dismissed when in-vitro-fertilised ova existed but had not yet been transferred to her uterus. However, if she was dismissed essentially because she had undergone this advanced stage of IVF treatment, her dismissal would amount to direct sex discrimination contrary to the Equal Treatment Directive.

• Date:

  9 May 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Part-time workers: Part-time status need not be the sole reason for less favourable treatment

  In Sharma and others v Manchester City Council [2008] IRLR 336, the EAT held that part-time status does not need to be the sole reason for less favourable treatment, as compared to that of a full-time worker, for a complaint of unlawful discrimination to succeed.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  ECJ ruling on sexual orientation law

  A recent decision of the European Court of Justice may result in the UK having to amend its sexual orientation laws in relation to pensions. Although the main points at issue in the case are already covered by legislation in the UK, the application of the Barber temporal restriction may have an impact on public sector schemes.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case of the week: Age discrimination against younger workers

  This week's case of the week, provided by Addleshaw Goddard, covers age discrimination against younger workers.

• Date:

  1 April 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case digest: Religion or belief discrimination

  Sue Johnstone, editor of Equal Opportunities Review, provides a round-up of some of the remedies that employment tribunals have awarded in religion or belief discrimination cases.

• Type:

  FAQs

  Where an employee who is about to go on maternity leave applies for an internal vacancy, must the employer consider them for the position?

• Date:

  10 March 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Disability discrimination: Meaning of 'likely to recur'

  In Richmond Adult Community College v McDougall [2008] IRLR 227, the Court of Appeal held that, in considering whether or not a long-term adverse effect was likely to recur, only events leading up to the alleged act of discrimination should be taken into account.

• Date:

  10 March 2008

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Equal pay: Pitfall of unpaid overtime for part-timers

  In Voss v Land Berlin C-300/06, the ECJ ruled that legislation under which overtime pay arrangements result in a part-timer being paid less overall than a comparable full-timer for the same number of hours potentially contravenes the principle of equal pay enshrined in art. 141 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.