In an article written to coincide with International Women’s Day 2023, Baker McKenzie’s Monica Kurnatowska looks at law firm diversity and the importance of an evidence-based approach to inclusion and diversity.
A study by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that 77% of working mothers surveyed had potentially discriminatory or negative experiences. For many, the statutory protections designed to help mothers are not effective in re-balancing the disadvantages faced. With most mothers being of working age, we explore what employers can do to tackle these issues in order to retain mothers in the workplace.
The European Whistleblowing Directive (WBD) was supposed to be implemented by the European Union’s 27 member states by no later than 17th December 2021, impacting employers with operations in those jurisdictions.
This article looks at what those key challenges are and the unique support we can offer in helping global employers harmonize their global approach to managing whistleblowing reports within the prescriptive requirements of the WBD.
The European Parliament adopted a proposal on 2 February seeking potentially far-reaching changes to the current European Works Council (EWC) Directive. These include strengthening the information and consultation rights of EWCs and improving enforcement by introducing GDPR-level fines for non-compliance and a risk of injunctions for failure to inform and consult.
The UK government has published its response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on menopause and the workplace. While the response accepts some of the Committee’s proposals, it also confirms that the government does not propose any legislative changes or to produce a model menopause policy or trial menopause leave.
Equal pay for men and women has been enshrined in UK law since 1970. Since then, and particularly since the turn of the century, equal pay claims have tended to take the form of mass claims in the public and retail sectors. In recent years, however, there has been renewed focus on individual equal pay claims. We expect that the Financial Conduct Authority will step up its scrutiny of equal pay and remuneration policies.
2022 has seen further case law on the issue of the potential conflict between expressions of gender-critical beliefs in the workplace and proponents of gender identity. There are currently four main cases in this sphere: Forstater v. CGD Europe; Mackereth v. DWP; Higgs v. Farmor’s School; and Bailey v. Garden Court Chambers and Stonewall. There have been decisions in all four cases during 2022.
The government has published its response to the “Making flexible working the default” consultation that it ran last year, confirming that it will make the right to request flexible working a day one right.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has given some helpful guidance on what constitutes a valid job evaluation scheme for the purposes of bringing an equal pay claim under the Equality Act 2010.
This edition of the “Working with Unions” bulletin covers the period of April to September 2022 and includes: (i) the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in INEOS Infrastructure Grangemouth Limited v Jones & Others and INEOS Chemicals Grangemouth Limited v Arnott & Others, clarifying the scope of the unlawful inducements in collective bargaining provisions under section 145B of the Trade Unions and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act following last year’s Supreme Court decision of Kostal v Dunkley, and (ii) the Court of Appeal’s decision in USDAW and others v Tesco Stores Ltd which reversed the High Court’s decision to grant an injunction preventing the employer from dismissal and reengagement.