Skip to main content
Home > Issue 217

Issue 217 - October 2011

In October's issue (EOR 217)
Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
This month we focus on flexible working, with a case study, an analysis of the Government's proposals to extend the right to request flexible working and a round-up of employment tribunal decisions on flexible working and indirect discrimination. (...more)

Diary: Pickles disapproves diversity questionnaires
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
In a speech which has confused equality and diversity specialists, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, has told local authorities that they should not undertake diversity questionnaires of their residents or their suppliers. (...more)

Diary: English Specific Duties Regs come into force
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
Isn't there anyone in the Communities Department speaking to the other parts of the Government? On 6 September 2011, several days after a speech by Eric Pickles, the revised Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, which we reported on in EOR 215, were affirmatively approved by the House of Lords. (...more)

Diary: Scotland proposes stronger Regs
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
During a debate which lasted more than two hours in the House of Lords, no speaker mentioned that the Specific Duties Regulations apply only to England and that the position in both Scotland and Wales is different. We drew attention in EOR 215 to the more prescriptive specific duties already in force in Wales. On 9 September 2011, the Scottish Government launched a consultation on revised draft public sector equality duty Regulations, after the Regulations initially proposed last year were withdrawn because they were regarded by the Scottish Parliament as too weak. (...more)

Diary: Key cases for 2011/12 lecture tour
Topic(s):  

Other

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
EOR readers are warmly invited to attend one of my lectures in October for the Industrial Law Society (ILS) on key employment and discrimination cases for 2011/12. (more)

Diary: Labour Creative Industries Network
Topic(s):  

Other

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
I was invited along to the launch of the Labour Party's Creative Industries Network, an initiative intended to signal Labour's support for the creative sector. The network aims to "build relationships between businesses, cultural and educational organisations to ensure that Labour's policy development is informed by the experiences and priorities of the people on the frontline of the UK's creative industries."

Diary: Wainwright Trust
Topic(s):  

Other

  Author:  

Michael Rubenstein

  
As a trustee, I will be attending the Wainwright Trust's annual equal opportunities "Question Time" evening and party on Tuesday, 25 October 2011 at the Royal College of Physicians, 11 St Andrews Place, Regent's Park, London NW1 4LE.

American Express: establishing a leader-led flexible culture
Topic(s):  

Flexible working

  Author:  

Carol Foster

  
American Express is committed to adopting a flexible working culture and has focused on the roles of senior leaders and line managers to achieve this. Carol Foster looks at the initiatives introduced by the company to embed flexible working into its working practices.

Flexible working: proposals for reform
Topic(s):  

Flexible working

  Author:  

Sandra Wallace

  
The Government consultation "Modern Workplaces" sought views on a number of family-friendly and equality proposals, including a proposal to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees. Sandra Wallace looks at the issues.

Kent County Council: supporting young people
Topic(s):  

Age

  Author:  

Kate Godwin

  
Greenhouse, Kent County Council's staff group for young people, won the 2011 Employers Forum on Age award for best innovation in the public sector. Kate Godwin looks at the group's activities and impact.

EU: helping young people into work
Topic(s):  

Age

  Author:  

Beatrice Harper

  
One-fifth of the EU's 16- to 24-year-olds are unemployed. Beatrice Harper looks at recent European Commission initiatives to combat age discrimination and fight youth unemployment.

Going for gold at EDF Energy
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

  Author:  

Kate Godwin

  
EDF Energy is committed to having its work on diversity and inclusion assessed by independent experts as being of "gold standard" level by 2012. Kate Godwin looks at how the company is seeking to achieve this goal.

Women on Boards: what the UK can learn from Australia
Topic(s):  

Sex

  Author:  

Charlotte Sweeney

  
Charlotte Sweeney reports from a recent conference hosted by the European Professional Women's Network (EPWN) and the consultancy group Mercer.

EFD: the Disability Standard
Topic(s):  

Disability

  Author:  

Carol Foster

  
Employers' Forum on Disability has launched a new Disability Standard that enables members to measure and improve their performance. Carol Foster outlines the key elements of the new process.

How to manage sickness policies and disability-related absences
Topic(s):  

Disability

  Author:  

Penny Macmillan and Philip Godfrey

  
Sickness policies are intended to support employees who are off sick but also facilitate a return to work. Employers need to balance the effective management of a sickness absence policy with avoiding disability discrimination. Penny Macmillan and Philip Godfrey explain how.

Compulsory retirement at 60 not justified
Topic(s):  

Age

  Author:  

Darren Newman

  
The Court of Justice of the European Union holds that a requirement contained in a collective agreement for pilots to retire at the age of 60 could not be justified under the Framework Employment Equality Directive. Although the need to protect public safety could be the basis of justification on the grounds of public security or occupational requirement, requiring retirement at the age of 60 when national and international law allowed pilots to continue to the age of 65 was not proportionate. (1) Prigge (2) Fromme (3) Lambach v Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Case C-447/09 (ECJ, 13 Sep 2011)

Mere prospect of successful redeployment made adjustment reasonable
Topic(s):  

Disability

  Author:  

Darren Newman

  
The EAT upholds a finding that an employer failed to make a reasonable adjustment by not placing the claimant in a redeployment pool when it was clear that his stress-related illness was caused by the breakdown in his relationship with his line manager. The fact that his grievance relating to his manager's behaviour had been dismissed should not have prevented redeployment from being considered. Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust v Foster (EAT, 14 Jun 2011)

Recommendations
Topic(s):  

Compensation

  Author:  

Darren Newman

  
The EAT upholds recommendations in an age discrimination and victimisation case that the employer undertake a wholesale review of its employment practices and carry out a programme of equality and diversity training. Although the recommendations were general in nature, they did benefit the individual claimant because she remained in employment with the respondent. Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle v Delambre [2011] EqLR 948 (EAT, 5 Apr 2011)

Requirement for full-time work was indirect sex discrimination
Topic(s):  

Sex

  Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
An employment tribunal concludes that it is entitled to find that a requirement that team leaders work full time was a particular disadvantage to women in the pool of employees eligible to apply for the role in a restructuring. In the absence of evidence relating to the individuals involved, it based its finding on the recognition that significantly more women than men have the primary responsibility for childcare. Chandler v American Airlines Inc (ET/ 2329478/10 and ET/2329546/10, 5 Jul 2011)

Rejection of flexible working request for senior role was justified
Topic(s):  

Flexible working; Sex

  Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
An employer is held to be justified in requiring a senior financial manager's job to be done on a full-time basis where the finance director had set out compelling business reasons why the role needed to be full time. Donovan v GE Aviation Systems Ltd (ET/1402910/10, 4 May 2011)

Rejection of flexible work request not justified by need for 'personal touch'
Topic(s):  

Flexible working; Sex

  Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
An employment tribunal holds that the rejection of a flexible working request, on the basis that "the culture of the business required the personal touch" with clients, was not valid. The tribunal could not see why, even in a small organisation, the employer could not cope with the absence of one person on one day a week. It upheld a claim of indirect sex discrimination. Lloyd v Shepherd-Smith t/a Homesitters Administration (ET/2703403/10, 5 Sep 2011)

Needs of small team justify refusal of flexible work request
Topic(s):  

Sex

  Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
An employment tribunal has no difficulty in finding a requirement to be available to work any shift would put women at a disadvantage due to their primary childcare responsibilities, but holds that the requirement was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim where the claimant worked as part of a small team that carried out housekeeping duties in the respondent's hospital. Jurgelenaite v HCA International Ltd t/a The Portland Hospital (ET/2205827/10, 25 Aug 2011)

Requiring availability at short notice was indirect sex discrimination
Topic(s):  

Sex

  Author:  

Sue Johnstone

  
Although an employment tribunal found that it is not unreasonable for an employer to desire flexibility in its employees, in this case there was no evidence that such flexibility was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim in the absence of any discussion around the need for flexibility. Watson v Paperbox Stores Ltd (ET/1701689/10, 4 May 2011)

Flexibility would help women reach the top, says EHRC
Topic(s):  

Flexible working

 
Outdated working patterns and inflexible organisations continue to be major barriers to women occupying the top private and public sector jobs, according to a survey by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

Current developments on flexible working
Topic(s):  

Flexible working

 
A round-up of recent developments on flexible working.

Voluntary scheme on equality reporting launched
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

 
The Government has launched a new voluntary gender equality reporting scheme for businesses called "Think, Act, Report".

Employment tribunal statistics 2010/11
Topic(s):  

Compensation

 
Following publication of tribunal statistics for all tribunals by the Ministry for Justice in June 2011, further statistics relating just to employment tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal are now available. The additional information in the latest publication relates mainly to levels of compensation, particularly in discrimination claims.

Fast Track results in increase in payment of tribunal awards
Topic(s):  

Compensation

 
The first year of the Acas and Employment Fast Track has resulted in more than two-fifths of unpaid tribunal awards being recovered.

Homophobia down but anti-immigrant feelings increase in Scotland
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

 
A new survey finds an increase in support for same-sex relationships but more discrimination against ethnic minorities and immigrants.

UK needs detailed action plan on race equality
Topic(s):  

Race

 
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has concluded that the UK needs to do more to address racial inequality. After hearing evidence compiled by a coalition of over 130 UK organisations, and interrogating a team of government representatives, CERD said that the UK needs to "adopt a detailed action plan ... for tackling race inequality" with targets and monitoring procedures, in consultation with minority and ethnic groups.

TUC Equality Audit 2011
Topic(s):  

Equality & diversity

 
The TUC's fifth comprehensive equality audit reveals that more unions are specifically targeting women, black, disabled, gay and young workers in their recruitment drives.

Equality Act one year on
Topic(s):  

Other

 
The Discrimination Law Association's conference on the Equality Act, hosted by Simmons & Simmons, has a keynote speech by Professor Sir Bob Hepple, and sessions on current Government proposals on equality, the public sector duty and religion or belief and sexual orientation.

enei launch
Topic(s):  

Other

 
The Employers Forum on Age and Employers Forum on Belief will be relaunched as the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) at a launch event at the Globe Theatre on 18 October.


Top Back
Please log in

Subscriber Login






If you have been given an trial username and password, please enter them in the boxes above.

 What if you don't have a username and password?

If you are a subscriber to Equal Opportunities Review then you are entitled to access EOR online.

Call us on 0844 800 1863 or fill in our online form to find out more.


© Michael Rubenstein Publishing Ltd 2013   |  Terms and Conditions  |  Privacy Policy  |  Sitemap
© Copyright Michael Rubenstein Publishing Ltd. This article may be printed for individual use but may not be photocopied or forwarded by email or otherwise reproduced.