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21 July 2023
Issue: 8034 / Categories: Legal News , Employment , Discrimination , Human rights , Tribunals
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NLJ this week: Human-rights-first approach marks significant development in employment claims

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A recent employment appeal concerning a teacher dismissed for expressing gender-critical views on Facebook is a significant development in employment law because the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) focused on the ‘reason why’ question. In this week’s NLJ, Charles Pigott, professional support lawyer, Mills & Reeve, explains why the EAT’s approach ‘marks a significant development’ for discrimination claims, breaking new ground.

Pigott writes: ‘Perhaps because there was no parallel claim for indirect discrimination, this is believed to be the first EAT decision where a human rights analysis has provided the starting point for the analysis of the “reason why” question under s 13 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010), which provides the statutory definition of direct discrimination.’

In its judgment, the Employment Appeal Tribunal offered guidance to help employment tribunals approach the proportionality assessment in this and future cases. 

Read Pigott's assessment in full here.

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Brabners—six promotions

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NEWS
Calls to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 have been renewed, with the Bar Council arguing the current threshold criminalises children too early and risks pushing them towards lifelong offending
The legal profession's AI challenge extends far beyond fabricated case citations, according to a warning about the next phase of technological risk
Law firms should use the transition period before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumes anti-money laundering (AML) supervision to strengthen governance and compliance, experts have warned
Cross-border disputes increasingly demand creative approaches to gathering evidence, with litigators needing to look beyond traditional letters of request
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified the distinction between contracts of 'indefinite' and 'perpetual' duration, with potentially significant implications for commercial drafting
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