Category: equality

Craig Prescott: Modernising the Monarchy: Moving Beyond the 1917 Letters Patent and the “George V Convention” – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in constitutional law, equality, news, peerages & dignities, royal family by sally

‘In March 2021, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave one of the most extraordinary interviews ever held with a member of the Royal Family. It may have a profound and long-lasting effect on the monarchy, an institution that remains central to the UK’s constitutional arrangements. Already, there are calls for reform. This blog focuses on the section of the interview that discussed the lack of princely status for Archie, the Sussexes’ eldest child.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association, 23rd March 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

Turani & Anor v Secretary of State for the Home Department- Equality Law Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in equality, immigration, news, race discrimination, refugees by sally

‘The Court considered an appeal from a High Court decision which had rejected indirect race discrimination and PSED challenges to the application of the Defendant’s ex gratia scheme to support and assist third-country national refugees outside the UK who have fled the conflict in Syria. The case is important, if somewhat disheartening to equality lawyers, for its conclusions on the (limited) extra-territorial effect of the Equality Act 2010. It is worth emphasising that the Court of Appeal’s approval of the High Court’s conclusions on justification were subject to the proviso that the limited evidence on which the High Court was prepared to find in the Defendant’s favour was the result of the way in which the claim had developed post-issue; as Underhill LJ, concurring with Simler LJ leading judgment, stated at §110: “the story is indeed a good illustration of the perils of “rolling judicial review”.’

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Equality Law Blog, 22nd March 2021

Source: equalitylawblog.com

R (Blundell & Ors) v SSWP; R (Day) v SSWP – Equality Law Blog

Posted March 23rd, 2021 in benefits, disability discrimination, equality, fines, government departments, news, statutory duty by sally

‘The Claimants unsuccessfully challenged the Defendant’s policy of making deductions at a fixed rate from universal credit (UC) to pay off criminal fines. So far as relevant here, the claim alleged breach of the PSED (s149 Equality Act 2010) and unlawful indirect disability discrimination. The latter claim failed on the evidence, Kerr J pointing out that it would more suitably have been brought in the county court. The Judge did accept that the Defendant had breached the PSED but ruled against the claimants on the basis that compliance with the PSED would very likely have made no difference and that, therefore, s31A of the Senior Courts Act 1981 defeated the claim.’

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Equality Law Blog, 22nd March 2021

Source: equalitylawblog.com

Unequal chances? Ethnic disproportionality in child welfare and family justice – Family Law

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in care orders, children, equality, families, family courts, local government, news, race discrimination, racism, social services, statistics by tracey

‘Many have experienced their own Black Lives Matter moment in the last 12 months, a sharp realisation of entrenched prejudices and inequalities that still exist in our society. In the family justice system that moment came last October when a black barrister, Alexandra Wilson, was mistaken for a defendant three times in one day. And yet, more generally there has been surprising little debate about the disproportionate numbers of families from some ethnic minorities in the family justice system and what might lie behind this.’

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Family Law, 19th March 2021

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

The Unequal Power to Grant and Remove PR from Biological Parents – Family Law Week

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in children, equality, families, family courts, gender, news, parental responsibility by tracey

‘Stephen Williams, Barrister, St Mary’s Chambers, calls for reconsideration of the restrictions on the acquisition of parental responsibility by fathers.’

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Family Law Week, 17th March 2021

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias – The Guardian

Posted March 22nd, 2021 in demonstrations, employment, employment tribunals, equality, government departments, inquiries, insanity, news, police, race discrimination, remuneration, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The investigator helping coordinate the official inquiry into the Metropolitan police’s handling of the Sarah Everard vigil and concerns over women’s safety is suing the Home Office for sex discrimination over claims that he has been penalised for being a “white man”, the Observer can reveal.’

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The Guardian, 21st March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Blind woman forces government action in shielding case – BBC News

Posted March 19th, 2021 in coronavirus, disability discrimination, disabled persons, equality, government departments, human rights, judicial review, news by sally

‘A blind woman who was sent a shielding letter she could not read has won “promising” commitments from the government after a legal challenge.’

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BBC News, 19th March 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Does a Compulsory Retirement Age Infringe Human Rights Law? – by Hugh Collins – UK Labour Law Blog

Posted March 19th, 2021 in age discrimination, employment, employment tribunals, equality, human rights, news, retirement, unfair dismissal by sally

‘An employer’s compulsory retirement scheme requires the dismissal of an employee for no other reason than the employee has attained a specified retirement age. The retirement age may be fixed in the terms of the contract of employment, a staff handbook, a collective agreement, or other regulations that determine the rules governing a particular retirement age. Although compulsory retirement used to be lawful, since 2011 the position in the United Kingdom (UK) is that an employee dismissed in accordance with an employer’s policy of a compulsory retirement age can bring a claim either for unfair dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996 or (for workers as well as employees) for age discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Following Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes [2012] UKSC 16, an employer can justify the age discrimination of a compulsory retirement age as a proportionate measure in pursuit of a legitimate aim, such as preserving the promotion prospects of younger staff or the avoidance of intrusive surveillance of the job performance of older staff.’

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UK Labour Law Blog, 17th March 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Supreme court to hear challenge to UK’s voter ID trial in 2019 election – The Guardian

Posted March 19th, 2021 in appeals, bills, elections, equality, government departments, identification, news, pilot schemes, Supreme Court by sally

‘The supreme court is to hear a challenge to the government’s decision to hold voter ID trials in 2019 in a case that could have implications for the wider rollout of the scheme.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Mikołaj Barczentewicz: An empirical study of the gender of counsel before the UK’s highest court – UK Constitutional Law Association

Posted March 15th, 2021 in barristers, constitutional law, diversity, equality, gender, legal profession, news, statistics, Supreme Court, women by tracey

‘During the live television coverage of the Supreme Court hearings in Miller (No 1), some commentators (and no doubt many members of the public) noted that almost all lawyers in the courtroom were male. That image of the UK’s “Supreme Court bar” (to borrow a US term), though not entirely accurate, highlighted an ongoing problem with gender representation. In a new study (available here), I analysed the trends of gender and seniority in counsel appearances before the House of Lords and the Supreme Court from 1970 to 2020 based on a unique dataset I created covering 5,041 lawyers and 2,714 judgments. I found that there are some very optimistic signs regarding appearances of the most junior counsel. However, gender balance among the more senior counsel is not as good and has not been clearly improving over the most recent years, which matters because counsel with more experience before the highest court dominate litigation in that court. The unprecedented representation of women among the most junior counsel in the Supreme Court gives nevertheless a reason to believe that the situation will improve also among the more senior counsel.’

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UK Constitutional Law Association , 15th March 2021

Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org

The Cab Rank Rule – Oxford Human Rights Hub

Posted March 10th, 2021 in barristers, Cayman Islands, equality, homosexuality, human rights, judges, marriage, news, sexual orientation discrimination by sally

‘In his blog for the Human Rights Hub, Edwin Cameron criticised Ms Dinah Rose QC, the President of Magdalen, for accepting the brief, in the Privy Council, to defend the Cayman Islands government’s law against same-sex marriage. Having long been one of my few judicial heroes, it is not easy for me to disagree with Edwin. However, on this point he is, with the greatest of respect, wrong.’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 7th March 2021

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Warning over photo ID law change for UK-wide and English elections – The Guardian

Posted March 9th, 2021 in bills, elections, equality, identification, minorities, news by tracey

‘Changing the law to force people to show photo ID to take part in UK elections will be catastrophic for ethnic minority communities, increasing barriers to access and in effect disenfranchising them, equality and democracy campaigners have warned.’

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The Guardian, 9th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Court of Appeal rejects appeal by ex-magistrate over dismissal for views on adoption by same-sex couple – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 8th, 2021 in adoption, appeals, Christianity, disciplinary procedures, employment, employment tribunals, equality, homosexuality, magistrates, news, religious discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, unfair dismissal by tracey

‘A magistrate and NHS trust board member who was dismissed over his views – based on his beliefs as a Christian – about the appropriateness of the adoption of a child by a same-sex couple, has lost two cases in the Court of Appeal.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Disputed respite care for Ultra-Orthodox Jewish boys: A and B – Law & Religion UK

Posted March 8th, 2021 in care homes, children, disabled persons, equality, human rights, Judaism, news by tracey

‘In A and B (Minors: placement, faith) [2021] EWHC 455 (Admin), two brothers of a family of Charedi Jews in north Manchester, acting through their uncle and litigation friend M, challenged Manchester City Council’s decision to offer them respite placement in Birtenshaw, a secular residential home in Greater Manchester, instead of in Bayis Sheli, an exclusively Orthodox Jewish residential home in London. A was 15, turning 16 in June 2021; B was 11 years, turning 12 in September 2021 [11]: they both had medical and behavioural conditions that required a very high level of supervision [12, 13 & 14].’

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Law & Religion UK , 4th March 2021

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Widow sues NHS over deaf husband’s ‘diabolical’ care – The Guardian

Posted March 8th, 2021 in cancer, compensation, disability discrimination, disabled persons, equality, families, hospitals, human rights, medical treatment, news by tracey

‘A woman is taking legal action against an NHS trust over the “diabolical” and discriminatory treatment of her profoundly deaf husband, who died of cancer in May last year.’

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The Guardian, 7th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Low Pay Commission to review minimum wage exemption for domestic staff – The Guardian

Posted March 8th, 2021 in employment, employment tribunals, equality, government departments, news, remuneration, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The government has asked the Low Pay Commission to review a rule exempting live-in domestic workers from minimum wage regulations. It comes after an employment tribunal in December found that the exemption was discriminatory against women. The tribunal heard extensive evidence that women are far more likely to be employed as family workers than men.’

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The Guardian, 7th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Women in UK armed forces face ‘hostile environment’ if they report bullying – The Guardian

Posted March 5th, 2021 in armed forces, bullying, complaints, equality, harassment, news, statistics, women by tracey

‘Women who serve in the armed forces find that they face “a hostile environment” when they are victims of bullying or harassment and try to complain, according to candid testimony given to a parliamentary committee on Thursday.’

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The Guardian, 4th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Judge rules council breached ECHR rights of orthodox Jewish 15-year-old boy – but not his brother – over proposal for respite placement accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 3rd, 2021 in care homes, children, disabled persons, equality, families, housing, human rights, Judaism, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has handed down a ruling in a disagreement over whether two boys should be given respite placement accommodation in a residential home in the Greater Manchester area or in an exclusively orthodox Jewish residential home in London.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd March 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Bar Council chair rejects challenge from Twitter row barrister – Legal Futures

Posted March 3rd, 2021 in barristers, disciplinary procedures, equality, internet, news, race discrimination, racism, school children by sally

‘The chair of the Bar Council has dismissed as nonsense the suggestion that it had to publicly support the barrister at the centre of a racism row over his comments on Twitter.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

A Campaign To Include Mx Title On All Forms Is Gaining Momentum. Here’s Why It’s Important – Each Other

Posted March 2nd, 2021 in electronic commerce, equality, gender, news, transgender persons by sally

‘Include Mx, which was launched in November 2020, is a micro campaign that approaches businesses and organisations to ask them to include Mx as an option on forms. Mx is a gender neutral honorific that was first coined and used in the 1970s. It’s used by those who do not identify as a particular gender, as well as those who do not want to reveal their gender.’

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Each Other, 1st March 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk