February

£47k compensation paid to gay man

John Reaney, a gay Christian who won a claim against the Church of England, has been awarded more than £47,000 in compensation after he took the Hereford Diocesan Board of Finance to an employment tribunal following the blocking of his appointment as a youth worker.

Ferguson v Anglia Water Services Ltd  

An employment tribunal held that age was not a factor in an internal selection process as the employer had been able to amply demonstrate an unbiased, consistent application of appropriate and thorough selection procedures so that the most suitable person was selected for the job.  

EHRC calls for Equal Pay Act to be scrapped 

Trevor Phillips, Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has warned that the almost 40 year-old Equal Pay Act has ‘reached its sell-by date’ and should be scrapped in favour of modern legislation to get women a fair deal quickly. According to Mr Phillips, the equal pay crisis needs a new solution or it will become unmanageable.

Discrimination by association comes a step closer

Sharon Coleman, the mother of a disabled child, took a  step closer to securing a ruling in the European Court of Justice (ECJ)that could herald new rights for those who care for disabled people after the Advocate General (AG) gave an opinion  that  the Equal Treatment Directive prohibits  discrimination by association with disability.

Stonewall publishes Workplace Equality Index 

Stonewall has published its annual Workplace Equality Index, showcasing the UK’s top 100 employers for gay people.  Many of the 1.7 million lesbian and gay people in the UK workforce use the Index to compares employers.

Which? highlights discriminatory recruitment 

Many employers are still asking discriminatory questions on application forms and in job interviews, according to the consumer group Which?, during the launch of the latest edition  of the Which? CV and Interview Handbook.

Employment Retention Bill introduced

John Robertson (Lab, Glasgow North West) has introduced a ten minute rule Bill on employment retention requiring that an assessment be made to determine whether a disabled person can be supported in the workplace or in more serious cases allowed a period of leave.

Ending discrimination against agency workers 

Following a meeting of aides to the Prime Minister with the 15 MPs backing a private member's bill to protect agency workers and an announcement at PM’s question time this month that further protection was being considered, the Temporary and Agency Workers (Equal Treatment) Bill  has been published in advance of its second reading in the House of Commons scheduled for 22 February 2008.