Third party harassment can happen in the workplace when someone other than the employer harasses the employee. This might include patients, customers or visitors. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently looked at whether an employer will be responsible for third party harassment. In Bessong v Pennine Care, the employee was a nurse. He was assaulted… Read More
Legal privilege
Confidential advice between lawyer and client cannot be used in court proceedings unless the document is created for a fraudulent or criminal purpose. The Court of Appeal has looked at how this principle works in Curless v Shell. The employee was a lawyer for Shell who had diabetes and sleep apnoea. He brought a discrimination… Read More
Work email on phones
We all find it difficult to switch off from technology. Work email being accessible on phones has blurred the lines between home and the office. Companies worried about these blurred lines are taking steps to stop employees from working outside work hours. Volkswagen has set up systems so that emails can only be sent to… Read More
Philosophical belief discrimination – copyrights
The Court of Appeal has considered whether it was discriminatory on the grounds of belief to dismiss an employee for asserting her right to own the copyright in her own creative works. In Gray v Mulberry, the employee refused to sign a standard contract assigning copyright in the work she produced whilst employed to Mulberry.… Read More
Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements in discrimination cases
Hot on the back of the #MeToo movement, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published some non-statutory guidance on the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements in discrimination cases. The guidance confirms that confidentiality clauses can be used in employment contracts to protect a business’s confidential information. However, they shouldn’t be used to… Read More