Statistics show (and if they don’t, then they should) that by far the most despised piece of marketing by any UK law firm is the traditional desperate mailing sent out by Employment teams warning clients of the legal perils circling like sharks around the Christmas party. Within that single innocent event, burbles the flier, lies … Continue Reading
One of the hottest UK employment law topics of recent times is that of equal pay. Recent press coverage has focussed on claims that the disparity in pay levels is such that on average women effectively work for free from 9 November each year when compared to the remuneration packages of their male colleagues. A … Continue Reading
Back at the end of July we noted the decision of the Liverpool Employment Tribunal in Gerry Abrams Limited –v- EAD Solicitors LLP that a limited company could claim age discrimination. That rather surprising conclusion then went off to the Employment Appeal Tribunal which has just found in unassailably clear terms that this is correct … Continue Reading
Thinking before you speak is generally accepted as best practice, particularly if you are speaking in front of a room full of members of the world’s media. Unfortunately Microsoft boss Satya Nadella recently failed to adopt this approach when addressing the question of what advice he would offer women who are not comfortable asking for … Continue Reading
In the first part of this piece I looked at the possible application of the US Rooney Rule (the compulsory interviewing of at least one ethnic minority candidate for any senior American Football coaching or management position) and concluded that such a requirement would be unlawful in the UK. I also discounted to some extent … Continue Reading
If your relationship were on the rocks, if you saw the object of your affections drifting away from you, what would you do? One would imagine, possibly even expect, that you would take urgent steps to get things back on track and that you would try desperately to see your other half so that you … Continue Reading
I’ve been watching The Voice recently, the UK “reality talent” show (not quite sure how much of that to put in inverted commas) where the judges have no idea what each singer looks like beyond a reasonably confident (though not always accurate) guess at his/her gender. At the point of casting their vote, the judges … Continue Reading
In a recent Radio Times interview Dara O’Briain, presenter of UK comedy quiz Mock the Week has hit back at BBC Director of Television Danny Cohen’s decision to require all such panel shows to feature at least one female comedian. While he obviously agrees that women should be involved in these programmes, said Mr Briain, … Continue Reading
Having survived almost exclusively on mince-pies and red wine over the festive period, I waddled into January with that familiar feeling of gluttony and self-loathing. The only saving grace is that I am not alone – I had been in the office no more than five minutes today when conversations about Christmas swiftly turned to … Continue Reading
The Government has announced that the third party harassment provisions in the Equality Act 2010 are to be repealed, effective from 1 October 2013. With that repeal we will see an end to what many commentators agree has been a particularly badly drafted piece of legislation. The question is whether this will be a step … Continue Reading
Recently the General Synod of the Church of England voted to approve the ordination of women bishops. However, the requisite two thirds majority was only reached in two (Bishops and Clergy) out of the three Houses. The House of Laity was six votes short of the necessary two thirds majority, which ultimately meant that the … Continue Reading
Listening to the Today programme on Radio 4 this week, I was somewhat surprised to hear that it had taken a Committee of MPs a three month inquiry, which included an online consultation and oral evidence, to conclude that a large number of the population are not satisfied with their (their own, not the MPs’, … Continue Reading
An advertisement for a well-known pizza brand running on UK television at the moment leads the employment lawyer in us all (me, anyway) to consider the potential pitfalls of “look-ism” for employers. Dealing with that advert, to start. For the uninitiated, it starts with a slow-pan shot of a group of unnaturally good-looking and fearsomely … Continue Reading
