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Direct discrimination
In Johnson and Johnson Medical Limited v Fayokun, the EAT held that a manager’s use of a “generic Nigerian working profile” amounted to direct race discrimination. The profile contained “lazy stereotypes” and influenced the way an employee of African ethnicity was managed. The decision is a reminder that employers should ensure managers do not rely on assumptions or stereotypes linked to race, nationality or ethnic origin when managing employees.
A care worker has won her claims for direct race discrimination and harassment after colleagues excluded her by speaking a foreign language during a meeting.
Age discrimination can be a tricky area for employers. In this edition of the podcast, Susie Munro, Senior Legal Editor at XpertHR, leads us on a tour of recent cases that offer examples of how things can go wrong if they are mishandled and provides some tips on avoiding typical age-related traps.
In Forstater v CGD Europe and others, an employment tribunal held that a consultant researcher was discriminated against when a think tank ended its relationship with her because of her gender-critical belief, which she had expressed on Twitter.
In Forstater v CGD Europe and others, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the consultant's belief that sex is biologically immutable amounts to a philosophical belief within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.
In Crompton v Eden Private Staff Ltd, an employment tribunal found that jibes made by employees to a 57-year-old colleague about Alzheimer's and "senior moments" constituted harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
In Commissioner of the City of London Police v Geldart, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a failure to pay a London allowance to a police officer on maternity leave constituted direct sex discrimination and no comparator was required.
In Badara v Pulse Healthcare Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employer should not have relied solely on negative Home Office checks when it dismissed the employee for failing to provide right to work documentation.
In Owen v Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and another, the Court of Appeal held that refusing to allow a disabled employee to undertake an overseas posting due to medical concerns did not amount to direct disability discrimination.
In Hale v Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the decision to instigate the disciplinary procedure was not a one-off act, but the start of a state of affairs that would continue until the conclusion of the disciplinary process.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to direct discrimination.