Review of Bar exam chaos points finger at BSB and Pearson VUE – Legal Futures

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) and electronic testing company Pearson VUE have both come under fire from the independent review of last year’s Bar professional training course (BPTC) exams.’

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Legal Futures, 7th May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Entrepreneur with “strong views on breastfeeding” unfairly dismissed lawyer – Legal Futures

‘A Russian entrepreneur based in the UK with “strong views on the importance of breastfeeding” unfairly dismissed a lawyer after she took maternity leave, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 5th May 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Universities ignoring rape culture warnings, say campaigners – The Guardian

‘Universities have ignored repeated warnings to tackle rape culture on campus, and left themselves exposed to lawsuits and reputational damage, according to lawyers and campaigners.’

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The Guardian, 15th April 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Keeping it Simple … A blog by Daphne Romney QC on the Asda Stores v Brierley UKSC decision – Cloisters

‘The Supreme Court has finally handed down judgment in Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley. But although it clarified and simplified the law concerning comparators at different establishments under s.79 EqA, it left other questions unresolved. Daphne Romney QC considers the judgment.’

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Cloisters, 26th March 2021

Source: www.cloisters.com

Judgment on Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others [2021] UKSC 10 – case summary by Daisy van den Berg – Old Square Chambers

‘Judgment was handed down on 26 March 2021 by the Supreme Court in the case of Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others [2021] UKSC 10. It was held that employees working in Asda’s stores can use as comparators employees working in Asda’s depots for the purposes of an equal pay claim.’

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Old Square Chambers, 26th March 2021

Source: oldsquare.co.uk

Cross – establishment comparisons are generally to be permitted save in exceptional circumstances: Asda Stores Ltd v. Brierley & Ors [2019] EWCA Civ 44 – 3PB

‘This Equal Pay claim has been ongoing for some time already (since 2016) and is set to continue for some time yet. In short, the Supreme Court’s Judgment handed down 3 days ago (26th March 2021) is focused upon a narrow point, which whilst of importance and interest to both parties and their advisors, in no sense has brought closure to these proceedings which are likely to continue to attract media attention as the layers of equal value litigation unfold.’

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3PB, 29th March 2021

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Protected acts: beware a cautious approach – 3PB

‘R indicated that it wanted to arrange a Christmas dinner, and proposed a date for it. No objections were raised. Hotels and planes were consequently booked. Thereafter C (and a co-worker) indicated that the planned date did not suit them. R considered the matter but declined to change the date, various arrangements having already been made.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2021

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Law firm did not discriminate against menopausal apprentice – Legal Futures

‘A law firm did not discriminate against a legal secretary turned apprentice with menopausal symptoms on the grounds of disability or sex, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 6th April 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

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

‘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

EasyJet pays compensation to woman asked to move by ultra-Orthodox Jewish men – The Guardian

Posted March 11th, 2021 in airlines, compensation, Judaism, news, sex discrimination by sally

‘EasyJet has paid compensation to a British-Israeli woman who was asked to change seats on a flight from Tel Aviv after ultra-Orthodox Jewish men objected to sitting next to her.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

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

‘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

A crucial and long-needed step against the devaluation of domestic work: ‘family worker’ exemption dis-applied in Puthenveettil v Alexander & ors – by Natalie Sedacca – UK Labour Law

‘On 15 December 2020, the London South Employment Tribunal gave its judgment in a claim brought by a domestic worker, Ms Kamalammal P K Puthenveettil, challenging her exemption from payment of the national minimum wage on the basis of the “family worker” exemption. The Employment Tribunal (‘ET’) accepted the Claimant’s argument that this exemption, stemming from the “family worker” exemption, was unlawful and indirectly discriminatory on the basis of sex. This exemption has meant that some live-in domestic workers – part of an overwhelmingly female and largely ethnic minority and / or migrant workforce – have been at worst denied payment of the national minimum wage (‘NMW’), and in other cases lacked clarity about their entitlement to this very basic right. After outlining the background to Puthenveettil, this post will explain the family worker exemption and its (mis-)application to some live-in domestic workers. It will then analyse the judgment in Puthenveettil, its significance in questioning the devaluation of domestic work, and the limitations of the legal framework for domestic workers in the UK.’

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UK Labour Law, 1st March 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

High Court: Covid self-employed support scheme does not unlawfully discriminate against women – UK Human Rights Blog

‘R (The Motherhood Plan and Anor) v HM Treasury [2021] EWHC 309 (Admin). In a judgment handed down on 17 February 2021, the High Court has ruled that the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (“the Scheme”) introduced during the coronavirus pandemic does not indirectly discriminate against self-employed women who have taken a period of leave relating to maternity or pregnancy in the last three tax years.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 26th February 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Women earn two-thirds less than men in top finance roles – report – The Guardian

Posted March 1st, 2021 in banking, equality, news, remuneration, sex discrimination, statistics, women by tracey

‘Female directors at the UK’s largest financial services firms earn on average two-thirds less than their male counterparts, new research shows, underlining the pay gap that still exists between men and women at the highest levels in the financial sector.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Covid: Court rejects self-employed mothers’ sexual discrimination case – BBC News

‘The charity Pregnant Then Screwed has lost its legal challenge against the government for indirect sexual discrimination over the amount of support self-employed mothers received.’

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BBC News, 17th February 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

R (Salvato) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Equality Law Blog

Posted February 17th, 2021 in benefits, children, equality, human rights, news, sex discrimination, women by sally

‘The High Court ruled that the requirement that the childcare element (CCE) of Universal Credit (UC) could be paid to applicants only after they had actually paid for childcare, rather than becoming liable so to do (“the proof of payment rule”), was unlawful because it discriminated indirectly against women contrary to Article 14 ECHR read with Article 8 and/or A1P1 Further, having scrutinised the justification for the Secretary of State’s approach through the prism of Article 14, he went on to find that it was also irrational as a matter of common law. The decision engages intelligently with the sometimes tricky question of appropriate comparator pools, and shines useful light on the potential for common law rationality to accommodate discrimination-based claims even were direct reliance on Article 14 to become unavailable.’

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Equality Law Blog, 16th February 2021

Source: equalitylawblog.com

Universal Credit childcare payment system indirectly discriminates against women – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 9th, 2021 in benefits, human rights, judicial review, news, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘R (Salvato) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2021] EWHC 102 (Admin). Ms Salvato is one such lone mother, who brought judicial review proceedings claiming that the differential method for reimbursing childcare costs constituted indirect discrimination against women contrary to Article 14 (read with Article 8 and/or Article 1 Protocol 1) ECHR and was irrational at common law. The Administrative Court agreed on both grounds.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 8th February 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Sexual harassment victims ‘less likely to be believed if they are seen as less feminine’ – The Independent

Posted January 15th, 2021 in harassment, news, sex discrimination, sexual offences, victims, women by tracey

‘Women that suffer sexual harassment who are deemed to be less stereotypically feminine are less likely to have their allegations believed, a new study has found.’

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The Independent, 14th January 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Sacked Treasury adviser settles unfair dismissal claim – BBC News

‘A special advisor who was escorted out of Downing Street by police after a confrontation with Dominic Cummings has settled her unfair dismissal claim.’

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BBC News, 13th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Equality watchdog clears BBC of pay discrimination against women – BBC News

Posted November 12th, 2020 in BBC, equal pay, equality, news, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘An investigation by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has found no unlawful acts of pay discrimination against women by the BBC. But it has recommended “improvements to increase transparency and rebuild trust with women at the organisation”.’

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BBC News, 12th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk