Religious Discrimination
The Football Association isn’t the only organisation to suffer a reputational blow this month. Tech giant, Google, a predominantly left-leaning firm, caused a stir when one of its engineers circled a ten-page memo about the issue of gender equality and why women were genetically less suited to tech and leadership roles. The memo states that women are […]
In further dress code news we have an EU case for you. Whilst we may not be a member for much longer, it seems the EU has given an important verdict on religious clothing in the work place. In Achbita & Anor v G4S Secure Solutions, the Claimant was banned from wearing a headscarf due […]
Last month we did a guide to warm weather working. Additionally, this summer has seen two major sporting events which can lead to higher levels of leave, and, some employers have an increased amount of Bank Holidays in this holiday year. With that in mind and a Bank Holiday looming on the horizon, we thought it would be a […]
A report by the Women and Equalities Committee has found that Muslim women are three times less likely to be in work due to the perceived triple penalty of being a women, a Muslim and being BAME. Religion is believed to be the main cause due to a rise in Islamophobia in society as a whole. This […]
Every month we bring you an employment law related story that somehow gets swept up in the imperfect storm that is tabloid journalism. This month’s story is so sensationalist it may even result in the Daily Mail being able to describe celebrities’ legs as something other than pins! In a recent Sun headline, Angela Gibbins, Head […]
A recent ET judgment suggests there is no guarantee to long periods of time off for religious reasons. In Garedu v London Underground the ET held the Respondent was right to reject the Claimant’s request to five weeks off in summer to attend a religious festival in Italy, his country of origin. The Claimant had […]
Conduct of staff isn’t the only headache that employers face when organising the Christmas party. Every year we get asked questions so we thought we would get ahead of the game. 1. Do I need a policy statement for Christmas parties? Many employers issue a policy statement that relates to staff conduct at work socials, if […]
A McDonalds branch in Birmingham has had to have its burger and eat it after the manger was caught on video discriminating against black employees. The manager, Mr Khela, cut the hours of the branch’s 20 black employees due to apparent underperformance. When confronted by an employee he insisted this was store policy. Mr Khela […]
The European Union has been a contentious issue in the UK from practically the day we joined. However with David Cameron promising a referendum there is a real possibility that the UK might leave the E.U in the near future.. Here are some of the impacts an European separation might have on employment law. […]
Hello again, we hope you enjoyed the bank holiday despite the gloomy weather. This week’s case is about religious discrimination and is one of the most straightforward cases we’ve covered, however, there are still lessons to be learned for employers. The question this week is: Can a health and safety policy be indirectly discriminatory? Ms […]
With not long to go until the General Election we thought it would be appropriate to cover a case that concerns political beliefs in the work place. However, we must warn you that this week’s case is a real can of worms containing several questions: – Are political beliefs protected characteristics? – Can […]
Next week will be an interesting week as the ECHR will hear four high profile claims against the UK relating to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion as contained in Article 9. The claims were all dismissed by the UK courts amidst much controversy. As a quick reminder, they are (1) Lillian Ladele who […]
Looking back at the last week, my employment news highlight comes from comments made by David Cameron at PM’s Question Time. He commented that he ‘fully supported the right of people to wear religious symbols at work, I think it is absolutely a vital religious freedom’. This is particularly interesting given that the case of […]
