The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals (England & Wales and Scotland) have issued Presidential Guidance updating the Vento bands for damages for injury to feelings in discrimination claims.

The Court of Appeal has overturned the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision which had read down section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) to give workers who participate in industrial action protection from action short of dismissal. The court confirmed that the protections in TULRCA, as drafted, do not extend to preventing employers from taking such action in response to striking employees. This means that a decision to potentially remove discretionary benefits from employees participating in industrial action would no longer give rise to a standalone claim under TULRCA.

In 2021, the government commissioned Dr. Tony Sewell to chair a new Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) to investigate race and ethnic disparities in the UK. CRED published its report into its findings in March 2021 which set out 24 recommendations to forward 4 overarching aims: (i) to build trust between different communities and the institutions that serve them, (ii) to promote greater fairness to improve opportunities and outcomes for individuals and communities, (iii) to create agency so individuals can take greater control of the decisions that impact their lives, and (iv) to achieve genuine inclusivity to ensure all groups feel a part of UK society.

In a briefing published in PLC Magazine, Jon Tuck and Richard Cook discuss the implications of a recent injunction granted by the High Court to prevent an employer from dismissing and rehiring employees so as to remove an element of contractual pay from their contracts.

In this article, we highlight some key decisions and legislation of which employers should be aware in 2022 such as the Employment Bill, increase in statutory pay rate in April 20202 and decisions on discrimination and holiday pay

On 19 July 2021, most COVID-19 related restrictions were lifted in England. However, the government cautioned against an immediate full return to the office, saying that it expects and recommends a gradual return over the summer, emphasizing employers’ obligations to ensure a safe place of work.

Indirect sex discrimination claims about working patterns and hours are sometimes based on the premise that women are less able than men to comply with an employer’s requirements because they are more likely to have childcare responsibilities.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the lack of protection from detriment for participating in industrial action under section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA) was a breach of Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) which guarantees the right to freedom of assembly and the right of workers to form and join trade unions. The EAT held that it was possible to read such protection into section 146.

The government has published its response to its consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace, which closed in October 2019. When parliamentary time allows, the government will legislate to introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and introduce explicit protections for harassment from third parties such as customers and clients.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in two German cases that a ban on wearing any visible signs of political, philosophical or religious belief is not direct discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief provided it is applied in a general and undifferentiated way. Such a policy may be indirectly discriminatory unless it can be objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.