Welcome to our December HRizon employment law newsletter
We look at two interesting discrimination cases – a victimisation case involving a complex mix of interrelated grievances, and a dyslexia discrimination case. We also consider the potentially wide scope of Acas-negotiated COT3 settlements, new guidance on inclusive recruitment and supporting disabled workers, and highlight other HR news from the last month.
Recent employment cases
- Settlement: was the wording of a COT3 settlement wide enough to restrict a new Equality Act 2010 claim brought after the first claim was settled?The Court of Appeal has recently held that the widely drafted wording of an Acas-negotiated COT3 settling an employee’s first discrimination claim, restricted him from bringing a new discrimination claim a few months later. Read moreVictimisation: if an employer alleges a worker has acted in ‘bad faith’ should this be put to the employee claiming protection?The EAT has recently held that if an employer alleges a worker has acted in ‘bad faith’ when complaining about discrimination, this is akin to an allegation of dishonesty which should be ‘put to’ the worker. Read moreDisability Discrimination: did a redundancy selection process which relied heavily on subjective factors discriminate against a dyslexic employee?An employment tribunal has awarded over £53,000 compensation to a dyslexic employee for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal arising from a redundancy process which heavily relied on subjective selection criteria, due to the impact her dyslexia had on her scores. Read more
Employment and HR news
- Flexible working requests to become a ‘day one’ right BEIS has recently published its long-awaited response to the flexible working consultation. This confirms the government’s commitment to make significant changes to the flexible working regime, including giving employees the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. Read moreStatutory further education sector reclassified as being part of central governmentThe statutory further education sector (including further education and sixth form colleges) has been reclassified as central government and this has various employment-related implications for those organisations. Read moreNew HSE guidance on supporting workers who are disabled or have long-term health conditionsAs part of a governmental drive to boost the UK’s productivity, the HSE has published a new ‘talking toolkit’ for employers to enable them to better support workers who are disabled or have long-term health conditions. Read moreNew CIPD guide to inclusive recruitment for employersThe CIPD has published a new step-by-step guide to inclusive recruitment practices, which includes some suggestions that are perhaps ‘counter-intuitive’ and go against what might previously have been considered ‘best practice’ in HR circles. Read more
For further information, please contact:
Emma Ahmed, Hill Dickinson
emma.ahmed@hilldickinson.com
