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15 November 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8094 / Categories: Features , Employment , Human rights , Discrimination , Harassment
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Employment law brief: 15 November 2024

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Ian Smith combs through four cases addressing important issues of interpretation…including the reach of sexual harassment law
  • Whistleblowing detriment: a question of timing
  • Redundancy consultation: how collective and individual fit together.
  • Maternity leave & redundancy protection—the meaning of suitable alternative vacancy.
  • Harassment related to the prohibited ground.

The four cases considered here all address important issues of interpretation, relating to when a protected disclosure can be made, how collective and individual consultations fit together in unfair redundancy cases (especially in non-union establishments), the meaning of ‘suitable available vacancy’ in the laws protecting those on maternity leave, and the reach of sexual harassment law. The last is of particular note on its facts because it concerned one man insulting another in a way that related to the protected characteristic of sex. It shows that, as so often, the matter is resolved by logical statutory interpretation, however counter-intuitive the result may seem at first.

Whistleblowing detriment

Most of this appeal in MacLennan v The British Psychological Society [2024]

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NEWS
Restrictions on workplace non-disclosure agreements could make settlements slower, more complex and more expensive when reforms expected in 2027 take effect
Private prosecutors face closer scrutiny under Crown Prosecution Service guidance designed to strengthen accountability and consistency when intervention is requested
Foreign states cannot necessarily claim immunity for cyber operations launched abroad against computers in Britain, following a divided Supreme Court ruling
Defendants who make unsupported complaints about their lawyers risk losing legal aid while confiscation proceedings continue without representation
Lawyers advising Russian clients face different sanctions restrictions across the UK, EU and US, despite their shared objective of increasing pressure on Russia
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