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.
… 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.
Half of 2024 has already passed and there has been a flurry of reforms to the employment landscape even before the impending election, which may result in even more wide-ranging changes. These have largely focused on family leave, although there have also been updates to the law around flexible working, which we have commented on previously…
At Waterfront, our specialist employment & HR lawyers advise on settlement agreements every week but for our employee clients, signing such an agreement can be a once-in-a-lifetime event. If you have been offered a settlement agreement or you are finding the process confusing or daunting, we are here to help. What…
In times of economic turmoil, redundancies are seldom far away. Against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis, unease in the financial markets resulting from political uncertainty and the continuing legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic, many companies are making cutbacks and having to find efficiencies in order to survive. Indeed, the last few weeks have seen news headlines about mass-layoffs at Twitter, the Independent and Royal Mail.