In a landmark decision, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that the absence of interim relief protection for discriminatory dismissals amounts to a violation of Article 14 ECHR. In the recent case of Steer v Stormsure Limited, the Claimant argued that the lack of interim relief protections for discriminatory dismissals was a contravention of the Equality Act 2010 and a breach ECHR rights.
Whilst the judgment appears favourable to the Claimant, the EAT dismissed the appeal and concluded that it could not deliver the remedy of interim relief by using a purposive construction of the Equality Act 2010 or by applying the legal doctrine of horizontal direct effect “because that would cross the line between interpretation and quasi-legislation, and because to do so would require the EAT to take decisions for which it is not equipped”. Leave to appeal has been granted to appeal to the Court of Appeal, so that the Court of Appeal can consider whether to grant a declaration of incompatibility for the breach of Article 14.
Such a decision would lead to a fundamental shift in how discrimination claims are pursued and the Court of Appeal’s judgment is certainly one to look out for at the beginning of 2021.
…Following an appeal by USDAW, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal and granted the injunction sought by USDAW…
From 26 October 2024, employers will be subject to a new proactive duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of all their employees in the course of their employment
In February 2024 the then government published a statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement, and this came into force on 18 July 2024. “Dismissal and re-engagement”, as it is called by employment lawyers, is a tool used by employers
… on 17 July 2024 the new Labour Government’s legislative agenda was made public as part of the King’s Speech. The Speech itself was light on detail (as is often the case), but the Government released a briefing note setting out more of the substance on their plans, which represent the biggest shake-up of employment law in at least 14 years.