Insights & News

Maya Forstater wins gender critical belief claim

07 July 2022

Following last year’s ruling by the Employment Appeal Tribunal that her “gender critical” beliefs were protected under the Equality Act, Maya Forstater has won her discrimination claim.

Diversity monitoring: what to collect and how to comply with the law

19 June 2022

To improve the diversity of your workforce, you need to measure it, and this means collecting and monitoring data. But what questions should you ask employees about their individual characteristics and how can you handle that information lawfully? This article takes an in-depth look at these questions.

Ethnicity pay gap reporting and intersectionality

17 May 2022

The government has said that ethnicity pay gap reporting won’t be mandatory, but many employers are choosing to do it anyway, adding ethnicity pay gap reporting to their existing obligation to report gender pay gaps each year. But what about the intersection of ethnicity AND gender?

Financial Conduct Authority launches new diversity targets with comply or explain obligation

17 May 2022

The FCA has taken another step towards improving board diversity and inclusion with the introduction of new ethnic and gender diversity targets for listed companies, and an accompanying obligation on firms to comply or explain.

Flexible working - the right to ask

Inbrief

08 April 2022

Employees seeking a better balance between the demands of work and personal life may seek a change in their working arrangements – for example, through part-time working, job-sharing or a change in working hours. While there is no right to insist on working in a different way, there is a statutory right to ask for a flexible working arrangement and to have that request seriously considered.

Maternity leave and pay

Inbrief

25 March 2022

The law recognises employees on maternity leave as being particularly vulnerable and gives them special protection. As a result, employers need to be careful to make sure they comply with their legal obligations in this area. This Inbrief summarises the rights that employees on maternity leave enjoy and looks at some common problem areas.

Family rights

Inbrief

25 March 2022

Employees who have parental responsibility for a child are afforded certain legal rights in order to protect and support their role as parents. In this Inbrief, we summarise the basic legal position on maternity and adoption, shared parental leave, paternity leave, parental leave, time off for dependents and flexible working, referred to collectively as “family rights”.

Siobhra Rush has commented in the Independent.ie on the results of Ryanair’s latest gender pay gap report

23 February 2022

The report, submitted during the pandemic, shows the gap in average hourly pay between men and women is 67.8pc despite an increase in female pilots. Siobhra has said the legislation is still valuable, promotes transparency, and “requires employers to reflect on why they have a pay gap and diversity issues”…

Ready Player ET1: employment disputes in the metaverse

11 February 2022

The metaverse and virtual reality offer opportunities but look set to throw up new employment issues around diversity, misconduct and more. Are we ready?

Disability reporting: time to act?

08 February 2022

The government is considering requiring all large employers to report on the proportion of disabled people in their workforce. In this article we look at the benefits and challenges of disability reporting and consider if now is the time for its introduction.

Gender pay gap reporting and small businesses

03 February 2022

Although only employers with 250 or more employees are required to report their gender pay gaps, many smaller businesses are deciding to do it anyway. Over 400 small businesses voluntarily uploaded their gender pay gaps relating to April 2020 onto the government’s database.

What the Protocol means for employment and equality law in Northern Ireland

19 January 2022

While there is a renewed focus on reviewing the customs elements of the Northern Ireland Protocol following Liz Truss’ appointment as Foreign Secretary and the prospect of an Assembly election, Ciara Fulton points out that it is important to remember the important role the Protocol plays in securing the employment and equality protections which were so central to securing peace in Northern Ireland under the Belfast or “Good Friday” Agreement.

Class pay gap reporting: a social mobility tool for employers?

24 November 2021

There’s a growing trend in employment law towards using transparency as a method of driving change. Whilst mandatory class pay gap reporting might not be imminent, this article considers the drivers behind an increasing number of organisations reporting voluntarily in this area as a measure to address social mobility disadvantage in the workplace and identifies the legal and practical issues employers need to consider.

Gender pay gap reporting - analysing the 2020 results

13 October 2021

Employers had until 5 October 2021 to publish their gender pay gap statistics relating to April 2020. What have we learned from the results?

Employers adopt value-driven employment policies in the wake of the pandemic

22 September 2021

We carried out a survey of in-house employment lawyers to explore the employment policy landscape in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This article sums up our key findings.

Ethnicity pay gap reporting: Government’s debate response will frustrate employers

22 September 2021

A petition on ethnicity pay gap reporting registered over 130,000 signatures last year, requiring that the issue be debated in Parliament. Over one year later, the debate has finally happened.

When can menopause form the basis for an Employment Tribunal claim?

08 September 2021

What types of legal claim may employees with menopause symptoms be able to pursue, and how can employers foster a supportive culture to reduce that risk?

National disability strategy launched

05 August 2021

The government has published its promised national disability strategy setting out various steps it will take to remove barriers faced by disabled people in their lives. This article looks at the main work-related measures.