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employment changes defy recent report 01/09/2008 A recent report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission claims that equality in the workplace is still very much a pipe-dream, however a Birmingham and London law firm believes that equality laws are moving forward at a considerable pace and that important progress is in fact being made.
Jane Byford, head of the Employment & Pensions Group at Martineau says that despite claims that the vast majority of FTSE 100 companies continue to be headed up by men and that equal opportunities for women are still far from being a reality, there has been significant progress in the right direction.
"In truth, the current pace of change in employment law is actually quite staggering with law firms witnessing a significant number of key developments in the area of equality and discrimination law.
"Positive amendments have been made to the Sex Discrimination Act in the context of harassment and maternity rights, which will really benefit women in the workplace. This goes hand in hand with proposals recently set out by the Government for the forthcoming Equality Bill, containing a number of controversial plans such as positive discrimination and pay transparency.
"Recent judgments however have been opposing in their outcomes and there needs to be some clarification. A judgment of the House of Lords, for example, in London Borough of Lewisham v Malcolm overturned previous law and will almost certainly result in disabled employees finding it increasingly difficult to establish disability-related discrimination.
"This is in contrast to a decision by the European Court of Justice which recently broadened the scope of disability discrimination law to cover 'discrimination by association'.
"It has also been announced this week that the preliminary view of an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice is that Heyday's challenge to employers' right to retire people at the age of 65 should not be successful. Although this view is not binding on the European Court of Justice, whose decision is expected before Christmas, it is often indicative of how a case will be decided.
"With conflicting information regarding the nature of the changes in this area, it is imperative that employers are aware of what is happening."
Martineau is hosting its annual Employment and Pensions Law Conference next month and is urging anyone wanting to stay abreast of this rapidly changing area of the law to come along.
Jane said: "The aim of Martineau's annual Employment and Pensions Law Conference is to update anyone who deals with HR issues on a regular basis on the most significant developments in this field.
"The conference will be a practical guide on how the recent changes will affect employers, with equality and discrimination being just one of the topics covered. Other areas discussed will include disputes in the workplace, redundancy and restructuring, company changes, as well as an overview of other significant legal developments."
The conference will take place on Thursday 16 October at the Martineau offices at 1 Colmore Square, Birmingham from 9.00am until 12.30pm, followed by lunch. If you would like to attend, please contact Emma Mole at Martineau on 0870 763 1426 or emma.mole@martineau-uk.com.
For further information please contact Jane Byford on
jane.byford@martineau-uk.com
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