Employment Law Explained

Tag Archives: Equality Bill

What lies ahead in 2010?

Posted on 06/01/2010 by Michael Scutt • 2 Comments
snowtreeiStock 000009448800XSmall What lies ahead in 2010? uncategorized practice procedure news miscellaneous stuff equality

Wot, no snowman?

I’m not referring to the five inches of snow outside as I write this, and the inevitable disruption caused to roads and railways for the next week,  but instead I am considering what the main statutory changes affecting employment law issues in 2010 will be.

   

January  

Not much will happen this month while everyone looks in astonishment at their credit card bills, but just a reminder that the Vento guidelines on awards to be made in cases of injury to feelings in discrimination cases look to have been increased late last year in the case of Da’Bell v NSPCC. The Court of Appeal case in Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in 2002 set three main bands for ETs to consider when making awards for injury to feelings; 

This is a preview of What lies ahead in 2010?. Read the full post (698 words, 1 image, estimated 2:48 mins reading time)
Filed Under: Equality, Miscellaneous Stuff, News, Practice & Procedure, Uncategorized

Equal Pay

Posted on 21/05/2009 by michaelscutt • 0 Comments

I was watching “The Trouble with Working Women” on BBC2 last night.  The newsreader Sophie Raworth and a bloke called Justin investigated why women don’t earn as much as men in the workplace.  I don’t think it gave any precise answer as to why it occurs; it merely highlighted that the Equal Pay Act 1970 has done little, or nothing, to reduce the gender pay gap. 

According to the statistics they presented, if I heard it properly whilst burning the supper, women in the City get paid 60% less than men.  60%!  If this is correct it is incredible.  I can fully accept that a pay gap exists between the sexes and that discrimination still occurs but the amount seems amazing.  

This is a preview of Equal Pay. Read the full post (645 words, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)
Filed Under: Equality

The new Equality Bill

Posted on 28/04/2009 by michaelscutt • 0 Comments

This is something we will be hearing a lot more about over the next few months and years.  At last the government has introduced legislation that seeks to rationalise the current miasma of anti-discrimination legislation and bring it all into one piece of legislation. 

At the moment, in the workplace environment, six types of discrimination are outlawed – age, race, sex (gender), sexual orientation, religious belief and disability.  Each piece of legislation behind each type is different in certain respects so a new Act that contains all the relevant definitions, duties and defences is to be welcomed.  Whether, in practice, the Equality Act (if it gets that far) will be is another matter.  Undoubtedly it will change as it goes through Parliament but here are the current headlines

This is a preview of The new Equality Bill. Read the full post (326 words, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
Filed Under: Equality