Maternity leave sackings cost £280m a year, says equality watchdog – The Guardian

Posted October 28th, 2016 in employment, equality, maternity leave, news, pregnancy, redundancy, sex discrimination by sally

‘British businesses are losing hundreds of millions of pounds every year as a result of women being forced out of jobs after having a baby, a damning report from the equalities watchdog has revealed.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Cuts that hurt – New Law Journal

Posted October 24th, 2016 in budgets, equality, legal aid, news by michael

‘ “If Theresa May is really determined to deliver a country that works for all then there needs to be a justice system for everyone, not just those who can afford it,” said Alice Wyss of Amnesty International this week.’

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New Law Journal, 20th October 2016

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

High Court challenge over award of helpline contract to G4S fails – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 6th, 2016 in contracting out, contracts, equality, law centres, news, telecommunications by tracey

‘The Law Centres Network (LCN) has lost its bid to prevent G4S being awarded a government contract to run the Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS) helpline.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th October 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

G4S equality helpline contract raises serious concern, high court told – The Guardian

‘Awarding global security firm G4S the contract to run a national discrimination helpline raises “serious and legitimate grounds for concern” and risks undermining the service’s credibility, the high court has been told. A judicial review challenge supported by human rights groups and the Law Centres Network has called on the government to delay transferring operation of the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) to G4S.’

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The Guardian, 29th September 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Education Law Changes And How Human Rights Can Keep The Government In Check – RightsInfo

Posted September 27th, 2016 in education, equality, fees, human rights, news, universities by sally

‘The new Secretary of State for Education has recently announced a new government proposal to abolish the ban on opening new grammar schools. This proposal could ultimately be ultimately be challenged in the courts. How could the government make sure it is complying with its human rights obligations in future proposals?’

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RightsInfo, 14th September 2016

Source: www.rightsinfo.org

Vulnerability, ‘significantly’ and equality duties – Nearly Legal

Posted September 26th, 2016 in disabled persons, equality, housing, local government, mental health, news by sally

‘This was another in a number of county court judgments on section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeals which turned on the question of vulnerability after the Supreme Court decision in Hotak. In this appeal, the particular issues were whether the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) had been complied with, and then the approach to ‘significantly more vulnerable’.’

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Nearly Legal, 25th September 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Council defeats High Court challenge to establishment of community libraries – Local Government Lawyer

Posted September 15th, 2016 in equality, libraries, local government, news, Wales by tracey

‘A Welsh council has successfully defended a High Court challenge to its decision to establish five community libraries.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th September 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Law centres to challenge rights helpline contract – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted September 7th, 2016 in equality, human rights, law centres, news, telecommunications, tenders by sally

‘The Law Centres Network has threatened to seek judicial review of the government’s decision to award the contract for operating a discrimination helpline to security contractor G4S.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 6th September 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

EAT: ‘reasonable adjustments’ can in principle include protected pay – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 5th, 2016 in disabled persons, employment, equality, news, remuneration by sally

‘The duty to make reasonable adjustments (RAs) to enable an employee who is disabled for the purposes of the 2010 Equality Act can in principle include continuing to pay a higher salary when that employee is moved to a lower grade role, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 2nd September 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Prevent Duty Part 3: British Values, Human Rights and handling “due regard” duty in practice – Cloisters

‘In this third article Declan O’Dempsey looks at the concept of “British Values” in the context of the Prevent Duty. It appears in the definition of “extremism” in the Guidance. British values are mentioned in the Guidance. However only examples are given of what constitute British values. In a post Brexit discussion these values have taken on a more important aspect. To what extent is tolerance a British Value?’

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Cloisters, 16th August 2016

Source: www.cloisters.com

Prevent Duty Part 4: Practical operation of a “due regard” duty: lessons from the Equality Act 2010 for the application of the Prevent Duty by universities – Cloisters

‘In his fourth article on Prevent Duty Declan O’Dempsey looks at the similarities between the Prevent Duty to have due regard and consider what the practical application of that duty to have due regard will look like in the light of the existing body of case law on the analogous s 149 of the Equality Act 2010.’

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Cloisters, 22nd August 2016

Source: www.cloisters.com

The Prevent Duty Part 2: Government Guidance and Practical Guidance – Cloisters

Posted August 25th, 2016 in crime prevention, equality, freedom of expression, news, terrorism, universities by sally

‘In this article I deal with the government issued guidance on the Prevent Duty under section 21 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 as it applies to universities.’

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Cloisters, 2nd August 2016

Source: www.cloisters.com

People of colour and poor whites failed by justice system – report – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted August 23rd, 2016 in criminal justice, equality, human rights, news, racism, reports by sally

‘A new report from a leading equality watchdog has cited fresh evidence suggesting that the criminal justice system is institutionally racist.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 18th August 2016

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Father’s hopes for single parent surrogacy law change – BBC News

Posted August 18th, 2016 in equality, human rights, news, parental responsibility, surrogacy by tracey

‘A father who won a groundbreaking legal case on Britain’s surrogacy laws has told the BBC he hopes he will soon be given the same rights as other parents.’

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BBC News, 17th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Ethnic minorities face ‘entrenched’ racial inequality – watchdog – BBC News

Posted August 18th, 2016 in equality, race discrimination, racism, reports by tracey

‘Black and ethnic minority people in Britain still face “entrenched” race inequality in many areas, including education and health, a watchdog warns. A review by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which also looked at employment, housing, pay, and criminal justice, found an “alarming picture”.’

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Full report

BBC News, 18th August 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Two-thirds of young women suffer sexual harassment at work, survey finds – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 10th, 2016 in employment, equality, harassment, news, sex discrimination, statistics, women by tracey

‘The level of sexual harassment in the workplace is “shameful”, with women being subjected to unwelcome jokes, verbal advances, suggestive remarks and even demands for sexual favours, a report has found.’

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TUC report

Daily Telegraph, 10th August 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Threefold rise in number of sex offences in schools reported to police – The Guardian

‘The number of sex offences in schools reported to police has almost trebled in four years, a study has shown.’

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The Guardian, 8th August 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Barristers still face flexible working penalty – The Bar Council

Posted August 2nd, 2016 in barristers, equality, flexible working, press releases, rent, women by tracey

‘The Bar Council has launched a new flexible working guide for chambers, which includes proposals for possible rent reductions for those barristers seeking to work reduced hours or away from chambers because of care responsibilities.’

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The Bar Council, 1st August 2016

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Chambers urged to shape up on diversity as discrimination claims rise – Legal Futures

‘Chambers are seeing more grievances over discriminatory treatment by both employees and members, according to solicitors who advise them on dealing with their equality and diversity obligations.’

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Legal Futures, 1st August 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Police watchdog IPCC ‘favours black complainants’ – BBC News

‘The police watchdog is now “more likely to believe black complainants than white police officers”, according to a former officer and equality campaigner.’

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BBC News, 31st July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk