In Sullivan v Isle of Wight Council, the Court of Appeal found against the Claimant’s application to extend the whistleblower protections afforded by the Employment Rights Act 1996 (the ERA) to job applicants. The Court of Appeal found that the exclusion of job applicants from such whistleblower protections in this instance was compatible
Amanda Sanders (UK)
Definition of “woman” for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
In For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers the Supreme Court unanimously decided that the definition of the terms “man” “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) refer to a persons biological sex. The appeal concerned the lawfulness of statutory guidance issued by the Respondent, which stated that a gender recognition…
Consultation on Ethnicity and Disability pay gap reporting.
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
In October 2024, the government released the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, outlining its plan to implement mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for larger employers. On 18 March 2025, the government published a consultation document to gather feedback on the proposed mechanisms and to guide the subsequent development and drafting of the…
Employment law changes in April 2025
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
- Increase in limits on awards in employment tribunals effective from 6 April 2025: The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2025 increases the limits applying to certain awards of employment tribunals and other amounts payable under employment legislation:
- The maximum amount
Further changes to the Employment Rights Bill: What do employers need to know?
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
In October last year the government published the Employment Rights Bill (the Bill) which contained significant reforms to employment rights (The new Employment Rights Bill: What does it mean for employers? | Global Workplace Insider). The Government has subsequently consulted on various proposals and on 5 March it published five responses to consultation. …
Court of Appeal decision on dismissal of employee for religious and philosophical beliefs
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
The Court of Appeal has held in the case of Higgs v Farmor’s school and others that the dismissal of an employee for posting on social medial in relation to her beliefs on gender fluidity and the nature of sex education teaching, particularly in primary schools, was not objectively justified and amounted to unlawful discrimination.…
New Neonatal Care Rights: A Step Forward for Working Parents
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
The UK government has announced a transformative update for working parents. From 6 April 2025, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 will introduce Neonatal Care Leave (NCL) as a day-one entitlement and Statutory Neonatal Care Pay (NCP) for eligible employees.
Currently, parents of newborn babies needing neonatal care rely on the discretion…
UK Supreme Court decision on the rights of third parties to bring claims
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
In Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs v Public and Commercial Services Union and two other cases [2024] UKSC 41, the Supreme Court overturned a Court of Appeal decision and held that a trade union was entitled, under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (the 1999 Act…
The new Employment Rights Bill: What does it mean for employers?
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
On 10 October, the Government published the Employment Rights Bill 2024 (the Bill). The Bill contains significant reforms to employment rights and has been hailed as being a “once in a generation” change to the employment rights of workers. Its aim is to “deliver economic security and growth to businesses, workers and communities across…
The Kings Speech – What does it include on Worker’s Rights?
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
On 17 July the new Labour Government published the King’s Speech in which it announced that the government is committed to securing economic growth by a new partnership with business and working people and is committed to make work pay and will legislate to introduce a new deal for working people to ban exploitative practices…