The Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 will come into force on 2 December 2019 s to allow two people who are not of the same sex to form a civil partnership in England and Wales. The Regulations provide in the main for an opposite-sex couple who form a civil partnership to be treated in law in the same way as a same-sex couple who are in a civil partnership.
21 November 2019
The First Tier Tax Tribunal’s decision in NVCS Ltd v (1) Commissioners for HMRC (2) Dare serves as an important reminder for employers and their advisers to carefully check the terms of a settlement agreement. D’s entitlement to SMP was £7825. D signed a COT3 settlement agreement, under the auspices of ACAS, providing for £10,000 compensation.
19 November 2019
In Bessong v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, B, a mental health nurse was seriously assaulted by a patient accompanied by racist abuse, i.e. “You f*****g black I’m going to stab you now”. An ET upheld B’s indirect discrimination claim because the incident reporting system had fallen into disrepute and the Trust should have taken steps to reinforce the message that all incidents should be reported. The ET, however, rejected B’s harassment claim because the employer’s failings (their conduct) were not themselves related to race.
16 November 2019
Any advice as to the merits of S’s claim and the likely award of compensation would require reading and consideration on a quite different scale and the offer of £500 was wholly unrealistic where it was for a solicitor “to advise on the merits of a settlement”.
12 November 2019
An ET held that her belief did not amount to a protected belief under S.10 of the Equality Act 2010 but in any event her dismissal was due to her failure to sign the Copyright Agreement and not because of her philosophical belief. The Court of Appeal agreed
6 November 2019
In Cunningham v Financial Conduct Authority an ET upheld C’s claim of discrimination because of something arising in consequence of his disability under S.15 of the Equality Act 2010. C is a qualified barrister, employed as an associate lawyer and suffers from chronic kidney disease
29 October 2019
An ET upheld M’s indirect discrimination claim. It was accepted that the employer had a legitimate aim, i.e. to deliver maximum operational efficiency, service standards and effectiveness of delivery via a clear single point of contact over all core hours
25 October 2019
In Base Childrenswear Ltd v Otshudi, O is of black African ethnicity. The Manging Director, G, dismissed O telling her it was for redundancy. After O lodged a race discrimination claim, the employer subsequently admitted that redundancy was not the real reason.
22 October 2019
Campaign group Changing Faces say that 18% of people across the UK identify as having a visible difference – such as a mark, scar or a medical condition that affects their appearance – and 36% had experienced unpleasant behaviour
21 October 2019
In Noreen v Recruitment Finder Limited, N, who is of British Pakistani ethnic origin and a Muslim, worked as a recruitment consultant. Throughout her employment the company’s Director, Mr Clarke, made derogatory comments to her about her race and religion.
15 October 2019
