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Employment law brief: 15 March 2024

15 March 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8063 / Categories: Features , Employment , Discrimination , Bias , Equality
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Discrimination in the workplace has been the focus of some notable cases recently. Ian Smith briefs us on four particularly thorny ones
  • Appropriate comparators and their relationship with the statutory reversal of the burden of proof.
  • Contract terms banning the wearing of overt religious signs.
  • Justification of age discrimination relating directly to the provision, criterion or practice.
  • Harassment ‘related to’ the protected characteristic.

For some months now, the cases considered in this brief have concentrated on developments in employment law as such. In the past month, however, there have been several more legislative changes (including the annual uprating of compensation amounts and changes to paternity rights) and a little flurry of case law on discrimination law in the employment context. The four cases mentioned here are: a consideration by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) of the role of comparators and how they interact with the burden of proof; a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the vexed question of bans on face coverings

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Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Hugh James—Phil Edwards

Serious injury teambolstered by high-profile partner hire

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Freeths—Melanie Stancliffe

Firm strengthens employment team with partner hire

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

DAC Beachcroft—Tim Barr

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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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