General Pharmaceutical Council guidance on religion, personal values & beliefs – Law & Religion UK

‘The General Pharmaceutical Council – the independent regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in Great Britain – has published In practice: Guidance on religion, personal values and beliefs.’

Full Story

Law & Religion UK, 24th June 2017

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Legitimate expectation as a ground for judicial review – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 19th, 2017 in civil justice, equality, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A number of recent judicial decisions – particularly a recent ruling by the UK’s top judges in the United Policyholders case – have gone some way towards clarifying what counts as a breach of ‘legitimate expectation’ by a public body.’

Full Story

OUT-LAW.com, 16th June 2017

Source: www.out-law.com

The Highs and Lows of the UK’s Business and Human Rights Laws – Rightsinfo

‘Today marks 6 years since the UN Human Rights Council adopted the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. To celebrate, we are looking at three fantastic things the UK has done to ensure that businesses respect human rights, and two areas where it could vastly improve.’

Full Story

Rightsinfo, 16th June 2017

Source: rightsinfo.org

Fair share – Counsel

‘All members should feel that chambers is doing their best for them. But how can you check work is being allocated fairly, and how can clerks demonstrate the fact of fairness? Rachel Crasnow QC reports from a seminar addressing these concerns.’

Full Story

Counsel, June 2017

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

R (C) v Islington LBC – Arden Chambers

‘The Administrative Court has held that priority within a housing allocation scheme providing that existing social housing tenants are to be preferred over other applicants, such as the homeless and women fleeing domestic violence, for certain local lettings of eg new and refurbished accommodation was justified and accordingly had not been unlawfully discriminatory for the purposes of art.14 and ss.19, 29 Equality Act 2010; the introduction of the local lettings policies had complied with s.149 Equality Act 2010 and s.11 Children Act 2004; but the operation of a system of direct offers, used particularly to allocate accommodation to homeless applicants, had not been sufficiently set out in the scheme and was accordingly unlawful.’

Full Story

Arden Chambers, 31st May 2017

Source: www.ardenchambers.com

Council pays £2k in compensation to blind woman over 2015 election breaches – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 6th, 2017 in compensation, disabled persons, elections, equality, news by tracey

‘A local authority has settled a claim brought by a woman who is registered as blind over alleged breaches of her right to vote at local and general elections in 2015, it has been reported.’

Full Story

Local Government Lawyer, 5th June 2017

Source: localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Lawyers make the grade in BAME ‘power lists’ – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted June 1st, 2017 in diversity, equality, law firms, legal profession, news, solicitors by sally

‘Eight lawyers including six magic circle partners have been named in a power list celebrating the best BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) business leaders.’

Full Story

Law Society's Gazette, 30th May 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Leading female lawyers among cadre of new deputy High Court judges – Litigation Futures

‘Twenty one new deputy High Court judges were appointed yesterday, of whom a third were women – among them a senior government solicitor, the vice-chair of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and an academic.’

Full Story

Litigation Futures, 24th May 2017

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

Disability Discrimination: “Perception Versus Reality” By Nicholas Siddall – Littleton Chambers

Posted May 17th, 2017 in disability discrimination, employment tribunals, equality, news by sally

Nicholas Siddall analyses the decision of the EAT in Peninsula v Baker [2017] UKEAT/0241/16 and the arguably anomalous position that this creates as regards disability in the context of equality law.

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 16th May 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Test purchase sees taxi driver convicted over refusal to allow guide dog in car – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 3rd, 2017 in disabled persons, dogs, equality, news, prosecutions, taxis by tracey

‘A North East council has successfully prosecuted a taxi driver who refused to let a passenger with an assistance dog into his vehicle.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 3rd May 2017

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Cuts to legal aid for prisoners ruled unlawful – The Guardian

Posted April 11th, 2017 in appeals, equality, legal aid, legal representation, news, prisons by sally

‘The government has lost a key court of appeal battle over access to legal aid for prisoners in a ruling that campaigners have called a groundbreaking victory.’

Full story

The Guardian, 10th April 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

No “reason why”: Essop and Naeem in the Supreme Court – Cloisters

‘Robin Allen QC and Anna Beale consider the latest case on indirect discrimination and ask the pressing question: are equal pay cases suddenly significantly easier for Claimants?’

Full story

Cloisters, 5th April 2017

Source: www.cloisters.com

Gay man takes fight for equal pension rights for his husband to Supreme Court – Daily Telegraph

‘A gay man fighting to win his husband the same pension rights a wife would enjoy if he was in a heterosexual relationship takes his case to the UK’s highest court.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 8th March 2017

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Who gets Silk 2016-17? – Counsel

Posted February 23rd, 2017 in diversity, equality, legal profession, news, queen's counsel by sally

‘David Wurtzel reveals the story behind the statistics in this year’s Silk list and Abigail Bright imparts sage career advice from an expert panel of women QCs.’

Full story

Counsel, March 2017

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Family Court proceedings: gender reassignment and ultra-orthodox Judaism – Cloisters

‘Claire McCann, an expert on trans equality, analyses the competing arguments in the Family Court’s recent assessment of the children’s “best interests” in the unusual context of a transgender parent and the Charedi Jewish community in North Manchester.’

Full story

Cloisters, 1st February 2017

Source: www.cloisters.com

Court rules against heterosexual couple who wanted civil partnership – The Guardian

‘A legal challenge aimed at overturning the ban on heterosexual couples entering into civil partnerships has gained ground despite defeat at the court of appeal, according to equal rights campaigners.’

Full story

The Guardian, 21st February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Bar Council: shared leave plan will help women reach top – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 21st, 2017 in barristers, consultations, equality, news, parental rights, self-employment, women by sally

‘The Bar Council has backed proposals by the regulator to amend rules on shared parental leave, claiming this could encourage more women to stay at the bar.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 20th February 2017

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Appeal court to rule on civil partnerships for heterosexual couples – The Guardian

Posted February 21st, 2017 in appeals, civil partnerships, equality, news, sexual orientation discrimination by sally

‘The appeal court is to decide whether opposite-sex couples can enter civil partnerships – without running away to the Isle of Man.’

Full story

The Guardian, 21st February 2017

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Joseph Bryan: High Heels and Workplace Dress Codes – Is Discrimination Law Working? – Littleton Chambers

Posted February 20th, 2017 in employment, employment tribunals, equality, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘In December 2015 Nicola Thorp, employed by reception agency Portico, turned up for her first day of work as a temporary receptionist at PwC. She was wearing smart flat shoes, but was told that Portico’s policy required women to wear heels between two and four inches high. She was given an ultimatum: go out and buy high heels or go home. Ms Thorp refused to buy a new pair. When she challenged the policy, her manager sent her home without pay.’

Full story

Littleton Chambers, 30th January 2017

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

BSB publishes two-year equality and diversity strategy – Bar Standards Board

Posted February 10th, 2017 in barristers, diversity, equality, press releases by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published its Equality and Diversity Strategy for 2017-2019. This follows the publication of its Diversity at the Bar Report last month. That report showed that diversity at the Bar was heading slowly in the right direction but that considerable progress is still needed.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 10th February 2017

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk