Disabled workers paid 12% less, ‘damning’ UK official figures show – The Guardian

‘Disabled people continue to face prejudice in the workplace campaigners have said, after latest government figures showed they were paid on average 12.2% less than those without impairments, equivalent to £1.48 an hour.’

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The Guardian, 2nd December 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Sets without equal numbers of women “will lose work” – Legal Futures

Posted December 2nd, 2019 in barristers, diversity, equality, gender, news, remuneration, sex discrimination by tracey

‘Market forces will mean that commercial sets without a diverse gender pool at all levels will soon find themselves losing work to more gender-equal sets, according to a circuit judge who has researched equality at the Bar.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd December 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

“No right” to judge women lawyers on appearance – Legal Futures

Posted November 27th, 2019 in barristers, equality, gender, legal profession, news, sex discrimination, women by sally

‘It is about time that men and women realise that they have “no right to judge a woman’s commitment to and ability to do her job based on her appearance”, a leading QC has declared.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Birmingham anti-LGBT school protesters had ‘misinterpreted’ teachings, judge says – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2019 in demonstrations, equality, homosexuality, injunctions, Islam, news, school children by sally

‘A high court judge has said activists protesting against LGBT equality lessons had “grossly misrepresented” what was being taught to children as he ruled that they would be permanently banned from demonstrating directly outside a Birmingham primary school.’

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The Guardian, 26th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Lady Hale predicts gender parity in judiciary by 2033 – The Guardian

Posted November 25th, 2019 in diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, remuneration, statistics by sally

‘Gender equality in the number of judges in England and Wales should be achieved by 2033 at the current rates of progress, according to Lady Hale, the president of the supreme court.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Burford school agrees to provide alternative to Christian assembly – BBC News

Posted November 21st, 2019 in Christianity, equality, human rights, news, religious discrimination, school children by tracey

‘A couple who threatened to take a school to the High Court over its religious assemblies have won their fight for alternative activities for their children.’

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BBC News, 20th November 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Civil partnerships legislation – unfinished business – Law & Religion UK

The draft Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 (“the Regulations”) was the first item of the secondary legislation within the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 (“the Act”) to achieve the necessary approval of both Houses under the affirmative resolution procedure. It was also the last item of debated business before parliament was dissolved on 6 November. Through section 2(2) of the Act the regulations were subject to a “sunset clause” which required them to be in force by the end of December, and as such, only limited time was available for its scrutiny and approval; this left a number of items of unfinished business, and these are summarized below.

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Law & Religion UK, 18th November 2019

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Free Internet Access ‘Should Be A Human Right’ – Professor – Rights Info

Posted November 18th, 2019 in equality, human rights, internet, news, statistics by sally

‘Many of us take for granted our ability to tap in to Twitter or spend longer than we would care to admit tumbling down a YouTube rabbit hole. But this luxury is not afforded to an estimated 1.94 million UK households lacking internet access in 2019.’

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Rights Info, 15th November 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Police oppose Traveller and Gypsy camp crackdown, FOI shows – The Guardian

Posted November 14th, 2019 in consultations, equality, human rights, news, police, travellers, trespass by tracey

‘Proposals to criminalise unauthorised Gypsy and Traveller encampments fly in the face of police recommendations to make more sites available to best tackle the situation, it has been revealed.’

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The Guardian, 14th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

JUSTICE Report calls for mandatory training on the law for school teachers involved in excluding students – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 12th, 2019 in equality, news, reports, school exclusions, teachers by sally

‘A new report has called for reform of the process by which schools permanently exclude students after suggesting that school teachers have an inconsistent understanding of their Equality Act duties and that Independent Review Panels (IRPs) lack the power to remedy unlawful exclusions.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th November 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Call for reform of pupil exclusions ‘as schools unaware of legal duties’ – The Guardian

The law reform group Justice has called for a radical overhaul of exclusions amid concerns that too many schools do not fully understand their legal duties and that the appeal process available to parents wishing to challenge an exclusion is inadequate.

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The Guardian, 11th November 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Trustees of Sikh Temple charity fail in High Court challenge to traffic management order – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 11th, 2019 in charities, consultations, equality, local government, news, road traffic, Sikhism by sally

‘A High Court judge has rejected a legal challenge brought over the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea’s decision to make a traffic management order imposing additional parking restrictions in an area with a Sikh Temple.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th November 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Discrimination in ‘one succession’ for secure tenancies – Nearly Legal

‘Simawi v London Borough of Haringey (2019) EWCA Civ 1770. We saw this case in the High Court – our report here – now this is the court of appeal judgment on Mr S’ appeal, seeking a finding that there was discriminatory treatment in the Housing Act 1985 succession rules between a person who became a sole tenant on the death of a former tenant as opposed to a person who became a sole tenant upon judicial assignment of the tenancy in a divorce (pre Localism Act amendments). In short, survivorship on a joint tenancy, or succession of spouse/partner on death of sole tenant counts as a succession, while an assignment of tenancy by court order under section 24 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 on divorce does not. Mr S was the child of a spouse who succeeded by survivorship.’

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Nearly Legal, 3rd November 2019

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Speech by Mrs Justice Carr DBE: Women in Commercial Law – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

‘Speech by Mrs Justice Carr DBE: Women in Commercial Law.’

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Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 6th November 2019

Source: www.judiciary.uk

Mixed race soldier sues MoD for £100,000 amid claims colleagues put up ‘racist’ posters at army base and nicknamed him Apu, High Court hears – Daily Telegraph

‘A mixed race soldier is suing the MoD for £100,000 amid claims he was bullied after colleagues put up “racist” posters at an army base and nicknamed him Apu, the High Court has heard.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th November 2019

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

‘I was told women couldn’t survive as barristers’ – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2019 in barristers, diversity, equality, judges, judiciary, news, women by sally

‘Two senior judges have spoken about the challenges they have faced in the justice system.’

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BBC News, 4th November 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Why The Legal Definition Of Consent Fails Victims – Rights Info

Posted November 1st, 2019 in consent, deceit, equality, homosexuality, interpretation, news, rape, sexual offences, victims, women by sally

‘A British man called Jason Lawrance is appealing his conviction for raping a woman. The woman had willingly had unprotected sex with him – he told her he’d had a vasectomy – but she pressed charges after he texted her to say he had lied.’

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Rights Info, 31st October 2019

Source: rightsinfo.org

Chaotic court system threatens justice for vulnerable, say MPs – The Guardian

‘The most vulnerable in society are at risk of being excluded from access to justice due to poor digital skills, lack of legal advice, court closures and “dilapidated” courthouses, MPs have warned in a damning critique of the government’s modernisation programmes.’

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The Guardian, 31st October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

John Bowers QC’s Employment Law Blog: October 2019 – Littleton Chambers

Posted October 31st, 2019 in adoption, charities, equality, freedom of expression, homosexuality, housing, Judaism, news by sally

‘In R (ota Z) v LB of Hackney & Agudas Israel Housing Assoc Ltd [2019] EWCA Civ 1099, the court considered a challenge to the housing policies of a charitable provider of social housing in Hackney. Accommodation was allocated by the Housing Association only to members of the Orthodox Jewish community in the Stamford Hill area of London. The Divisional Court found that ‘there are very high levels of poverty and deprivation [amongst the Orthodox community], with associated low levels of home ownership … there is a strong correlation between the evidenced poverty and deprivation and the religion’. It also found that the arrangements for allocating housing which placed Orthodox Jews in a primary position to enable them both to avoid the disadvantages and to meet the needs. This would be unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 unless there was an appropriate exception.’

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Littleton Chambers, 21st October 2019

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Discrimination at Work Under the DIFC’S New Employment Law – Littleton Chambers

Posted October 31st, 2019 in employment, equality, news by sally

‘On 30 August 2019, the DIFC’s new Employment Law (“the New Law”) came into force. Though the drafting of the New Law marks, in its detail, a notable departure from both the old law (of 2005) and the draft law, largely similar provisions have been in force for the best part of 15 years. However, as the DIFC Court recognised in Hana Al Herz v DIFC Authority [2014] DIFC CA 004, there was no entitlement to damages for breach of the earlier discrimination provisions. That has been rectified. Practitioners can thus expect close scrutiny of the New Law and the discrimination protections it provides.’

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Littleton Chambers, 8th October 2019

Source: www.littletonchambers.com