Live From The Field

by | Dec 5, 2019

Is vegetarianism a protected belief?

Following a claim, the tribunal have found that on balance the Claimant’s vegetarianism was not a philosophical belief capable of protection under the Equality Act 2010.
Watch this space, as a preliminary employment tribunal hearing to determine if veganism is a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010 is listed very soon.

GDPR Update

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined a double glazing company £150k for making nuisance calls.

The company called people over an 11 month period whose numbers were registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) and who had not given their consent to receive them. The ICO had also issued them with an enforcement notice to warning them to stop making the calls.

If you need any assistance with GDPR, please contact us.

Don’t avoid confrontation is the lesson!

A photographer was made redundant and, believing that this was because of her race, brought a tribunal claim.  According to her employer, the reason for her redundancy was “purely for financial/economic reasons”, but it later amended their reason. Items of clothing were found “concealed” in the photography room, implying that she was going to steal them.  The manager lied to the claimant about the reason to “minimise potential confrontation”.

The Court of Appeal found that the manager’s persistence in lying about the real reason for the claimants dismissal formed the basis of a prima facie case of race discrimination, and the burden of proof was shifted to the employer.  It held that the employer had failed to show that race played no part in the dismissal.  The Court concluded that the manager was influenced in coming to his conclusion ” on so little evidence”, that the clamaint had stolen the clothes, “by a stereotypical prejudice based on her race”.

The decision above provides employers with a warning that a fair reason must be given for a dismissal, and a proper process followed.  Rather than investigating the suspected theft, thereby avoiding any potential discrimination, the manager sought to make things less confrontational by giving a false reason for the dismissal.

For any investigation or disciplinary requirements, please contact us for advice.

 

 

 

 

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