Equality, diversity and human rights

New and updated

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Innocent explanation for Muslim prison chaplains' lower pay

  The existence of a non-discriminatory reason for Muslim prison chaplains being paid less than their Christian counterparts has defeated a discrimination claim. Matthew Leon and Kate Hodgkiss explain a Court of Appeal ruling that has stirred up the law on indirect discrimination.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Dismissal of salesperson nicknamed "Gramps" was tainted by age discrimination

  An employment tribunal has awarded £63,391 to a salesperson who was nicknamed "Gramps" by his younger colleagues and later dismissed after feedback from customers that he was "old fashioned" and "long in the tooth".

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Meaning of disability: lifting up to 25kg is "normal day-to-day activity"

  Lifting up to 25kg is a "normal day-to-day activity" when deciding whether or not someone is disabled under the Equality Act 2010. Imogen Noons explains a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision on the definition of disability.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case round-up

  David Malamatenios is a partner in the employment department at Colman Coyle Solicitors. He rounds up the latest rulings.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Negative verbal reference and job offer withdrawal were discrimination arising from disability

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that both the claimant's former and prospective employers committed discrimination arising from disability when a negative verbal reference resulted in a job offer being withdrawn.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  No religious discrimination over rejection of request for five weeks' holiday in summer

  An employer was entitled to turn down an employee's request for five consecutive weeks' annual leave in the summer to attend religious festivals with his family in Sardinia, in a useful case for employers faced with an employee asking for a long block of holiday for religious reasons.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case round-up

  Amanda Steadman is a professional support lawyer, Iain Naylor, Lucy Sorell and Rachael Wake are associates, and Jessica-Alice Curtis is a trainee solicitor at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Social media: monitoring employee's work-related Yahoo account was justified

  In this Romanian case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) accepted that the employee's right to a private life had been affected when his employer accessed his Yahoo messages. However, the ECHR went on to hold that the employer's actions were justified in the circumstances and not in breach of art. 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Disability discrimination: discounting triggers in an attendance policy was not a reasonable adjustment

  The Court of Appeal has held that the duty to make reasonable adjustments will normally be engaged in a case where a disabled employee has disability-related absences that trigger the application of an attendance policy. However, the Court dismissed the appeal on the ground that on the particular facts of the case, the adjustments sought were not reasonable.

• Type:

  Employment law cases

  Case round-up

  Krishna Santra and Sandra Martins are senior associates at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.