Equality, diversity and human rights
In Pell v Wagstaff and Wheatley Hotel [2000] ET/2801882/99, an employment tribunal found that Mr Pell had been less favourably treated on the grounds of his sex when he was turned down for a job because he refused to cut his long hair.
In Abrahamsson and Anderson v Fogelqvist the European Court of Justice rules that provisions of Swedish legislation intended to address the underrepresentation of women in university appointments were precluded by EC equal treatment legislation.
In Abadeh v British Telecommunications plc the EAT holds that, for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act, the question of what constitutes a "normal day-to-day activity" must be addressed without regard to whether or not the activity is normal to the particular applicant.
In Canniffe v East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the EAT holds that the proper approach to the employer's statutory defence to vicarious liability for unlawful discrimination is, first, to identify whether or not the employer took any steps at all to prevent the employee, for whom it is vicariously liable, from doing the act or acts complained of in the course of his or her employment; and secondly, having identified what steps, if any, the employer took, to consider whether or not there were any further steps, that it could have taken, which were reasonably practicable.
In ICTS (UK) Ltd v Tchoula the EAT has found that an award of £27,000 for injury to feelings, including aggravated damages, to a black man who was found to have been dismissed because he had made allegations of race discrimination was so excessive as to amount to an error of law.
In Noor v Telewest Communications (South East) Ltd a London South employment tribunal (Chair: M E Stacey) holds that a female sales representative, the only woman in a sales force of around 70 employees, was subjected to a number of incidents of sexual harassment over a 12-month period, including the posting of female pin-ups in her office and the making of sexist comments about her by a manager in front of her colleagues.
An employee was not barred from claiming compensation under the Sex Discrimination Act by reason of the fact that her contract of employment was allegedly tainted by illegality, holds the Court of Appeal in Hall v Woolston Hall Leisure Ltd.
An employer is not obliged to justify a variation in pay or conditions between a woman and men employed on like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value if the employer has proved the absence of direct or indirect sex discrimination, holds the House of Lords in Glasgow City Council and others v Marshall and others.
A female manager who resigned after being ordered home to change from her trouser suit into a skirt, was unlawfully discriminated against on grounds of sex, holds a Birmingham employment tribunal (Chair: A J McCarry) in Owen v the Professional Golf Association.
A person who "knowingly aids" another to do an unlawful act contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976 is to be treated as doing such an act himself or herself. In this context, the word "aids" must be construed in accordance with its natural and ordinary meaning, which is to help or assist another who is the prime mover, holds the Court of Appeal in Anyanwu and another v (1) South Bank Students' Union (2) South Bank University.
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