Judges: Mr Justice Mummery (President) Citations: [1995] UKEAT 107 – 93 – 2702 Links: Bailii Statutes: Sex Discrimination Act 1975 1(1)(a) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Employment Updated: 10 November 2022; Ref: scu.208917
An employee mobility clause in a contract must be justified, or it may be discriminatory against women.The potentially discriminatory effect on the complainant of the introduction of a ‘mobility clause’ to her contract of employment was a requirement capable of amounting to an act of discrimination under Sections 1(1)(b) and 6 and of rendering the … Continue reading Meade-Hill and Another v The British Council: CA 7 Apr 1995
Mrs Brown was employed by Rentokil as a driver, transporting and changing ‘Sanitact’ units in shops. In her view, it was heavy work. She told Rentokil that she was pregnant. She had difficulties associated with the pregnancy. From 16 August 1990 onwards, she submitted a succession of four-week certificates mentioning various pregnancy-related disorders. She did … Continue reading Brown v Rentokil Ltd: IHCS 10 Mar 1995
The company appealed against a finding of race discrimination. Held: As a matter of law the concept of vicarious liability provided for in Section 41(1) of the Act, identical to that under Section 32(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976. Citations: [1995] UKEAT 56 – 94 – 2703, [1995] IRLR 529 Links: Bailii Statutes: Race … Continue reading Tower Boot Company Ltd v Jones: EAT 27 Mar 1995
The Tribunal considered the difficulties arising where one party was not represented, but where the case gave rise to difficult questions of law. In this case the claimant alleged sex discrimination in the context of rostering arrangements making demands on her as a sole parent. The defendant appealed against a finding that it was in … Continue reading London Underground Ltd v Edwards: EAT 14 Feb 1995
Three school dinner ladies had been employed by the Council at National Rates of pay and conditions. Their work which was almost exclusively carried out by females had been rated as of equal value to that of men employed by the council at various establishments. Following compulsory tendering the council declared some of the catering … Continue reading Ratcliffe and Others v North Yorkshire County Council: HL 7 Jul 1995
The applicant complained that she was dismissed when her employers learned that she was pregnant. Held: 1(1) (a) and 5(3) of the 1975 Act were to be interpreted as meaning that where a woman had been engaged for an indefinite period, the fact that pregnancy was the reason for her temporary unavailability at a time … Continue reading Webb v EMO Air Cargo (UK) Ltd (No 2): HL 20 Oct 1995
The claimant appealed against rejection of his claim for disability discrimination which had been on the ground that his condition did not amount to a disability within section 1(1). He suffered from anxiety, stress, tension and depression. Held: The claimant’s appeal succeeded. Peter Clark J said: ‘There was no evidence as to the effect on … Continue reading Kapadia v London Borough of Lambeth: EAT 27 May 1999
EAT The claimant appealed dismissal of his claim under the 1995 Act. He was a telephone operator injured after a sudden shriek in his ear. They had found him not to be disabled within the 1995 Act. Held: The appeal succeeded. The tribunal had carefully considered medical evidence provided by the defendant before deciding themselves … Continue reading Abadeh v British Telecommunications Plc: EAT 19 Oct 2000
Appeal by claimant against a decision on a preliminary point by an Employment Tribunal at which it was determined that the Appellant was a disabled person within the meaning of Section 1(1) of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 in the period 23 November 1998 to 15 September 2000 but was not such a person in … Continue reading Bush v Zurich Financial Services: EAT 18 Mar 2004
The claimant had been offered and had accepted a job subject to satisfactory health clearance. When that was not received her offer was withdrawn. She had suffered a condition which would affect her daily activities, but had recovered from that condition. She appealed against refusal of her claim for disability discrimination. The evidence suggested that … Continue reading Richmond Adult Community College v McDougall: CA 17 Jan 2008
The complainant, a Cypriot, argued that the respondent college’s practice, determined by government policy, of charging higher fees to ‘overseas’ students than to ‘home’ students indirectly discriminated against him on the ground of his race. ‘Overseas’ students were defined as those who had not been resident in the UK or the EEC for the three … Continue reading Orphanos v Queen Mary College: HL 1985
A claim for sex discrimination based on an age requirement was wrongly based. The proportion of mature graduates was irrelevant in the appropriate pool. The Court cautioned tribunals to avoid placing artificial limitations on the scope of the pool and indicated that it should comprise all those persons, male and female, who satisfied, or would … Continue reading Jones v University of Manchester: CA 10 Mar 1993
Miss Singh challenged her school’s policy which operated to prevent her wearing while at school a steel bangle, a Kara. She said this was part of her religion as a Sikh. Held: Earlier comparable applications had been made under human rights law, but this was under the 1976 Act. The evidence established that the Sikh … Continue reading Watkins-Singh, Regina (on the Application of) v The Governing Body of Aberdare Girls’ High School and Another: Admn 29 Jul 2008
The Tribunal lifted the stay of the claimant’s claim of disability discrimination. Judges: Morison J P Citations: [1998] UKEAT 1004 – 98 – 1911 Links: Bailii Statutes: Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: See Also – Kapadia v London Borough of Lambeth EAT 27-May-1999 The claimant appealed against rejection of his … Continue reading Kapadia v London Borough of Lambeth: EAT 19 Nov 1998
An employer’s liability for racial abuse by its employees is wider than its liability under the rules of vicarious liability. The statute created new obligations. Sex and race discrimination legislation seeks to eradicate the ‘very great evil’ of discrimination.Waite LJ said: ‘a statute is to be construed according to its legislative purpose, with due regard … Continue reading Tower Boot Company Limited v Jones: CA 11 Dec 1996
The claimant had been a cook. A poster was put up at work redrawn to show her in a sexually suggestive pose. The court now considered an appeal agreed by consent by the parties. Held: Since the case had been heard, the Court of Appeal in Tower Boot had amended the law, and the appeal … Continue reading AB v CD: EAT 13 Nov 1997
At a preliminary hearing, when the respondent failed to appear, the tribunal decided that it had jurisdiction to hear a case brought by the claimant against the respondent despite the 1978 Act. The respondent sought to appeal out of time. Held: The Appeal Tribunal should pay regard also decisions on the procedure and practice of … Continue reading United Arab Emirates v Abdelghafar and others: EAT 29 Jul 1994
The claimant sought increased maternity pay. Before beginning her maternity leave she had been awarded a pay increase, but it was not backdated so as to affect the period upon which the calculation of her average pay was based. The court made a detailed comparison of the regimes for protection under the Employment Rights Act … Continue reading Alabaster v Barclays Bank Plc and Another: CA 3 May 2005
The claimant appealed against dismissal of her unfair dismissal and of her maternity related discrimination claim. Held: The appeal succeeded: ‘it does not appear that the tribunal gave any separate consideration to whether the pregnancy was an effective cause of the adverse treatment of Mrs Gbokoyi and, insofar as it relied on the reasons which … Continue reading Gbokoyi v Bennett’s Eco-Inverter (Environmental Services) Ltd: EAT 18 Jan 2002
The court was asked whether a school was entitled to refuse to allow a Muslim girl to wear the niqab full face veil at school. The reasons were ‘first educational factors resulting from a teacher being unable to see the face of the girl with a niqab; second the importance of a uniform policy as … Continue reading X, Regina (on the Application of) v Y School: Admn 21 Feb 2007
An ability to carry out normal domestic day to day tasks did not mean that a physical impairment was not substantial. The word ‘substantial’ is potentially ambiguous. In that it might mean ‘very large’ or ‘more than minor or trivial’. The code of guidance resolves this ambiguity in favour of the latter alternative. The employment … Continue reading Goodwin v Patent Office: EAT 21 Oct 1998
The applicant had been taken on to stand in for an employee taking maternity leave. She herself became pregnant, and she was dismissed. Her clam for sex discrimination had been rejected by the industrial tribunal and EAT. Held: Since a man who had been recruited in the same situation would have been dismissed if he … Continue reading Webb v EMO Air Cargo (UK) Ltd: CA 20 Dec 1991
Miss Cox claimed that the Council had not made a proper adjustment so as to allow her to work for them despite her disability. The Council asserted as a preliminary point that they were not a trade organisation within the sections, and so were not caught by the provisions. They appealed a finding against them. … Continue reading General Medical Council v H Cox: EAT 22 Mar 2002
The applicant had soft tissue injuries around the spine as a consequence of a back injury at work. He was absent from work for a long time as a result of his injuries, and he was eventually dismissed when his medical advisers could provide no clear idea of when it would be possible for him … Continue reading Clark v TDG Limited (Trading As Novacold): CA 25 Mar 1999
Questions on pregnancy dismissals included unavailability at required time. The correct comparison under the Act of 1975 was between the pregnant woman and: ‘a hypothetical man who would also be unavailable at the critical time. The relevant circumstance for the purposes of the comparison required by section 5(3) to be made is expected unavailability at … Continue reading Webb v EMO Air Cargo (UK) Ltd (No 1): HL 3 Mar 1993
The claimant sought an injunction to prevent the respondent Trades Union calling on its members to boycott mail to South Africa. The respondents challenged the ability of the court to make such an order. Held: The wide wording of the statute did not mean that the courts had, in effect, limitless powers to grant interlocutory … Continue reading Gouriet v Union of Post Office Workers: HL 26 Jul 1977
The claimant, a former prima ballerina, had suffered injury as she grew old. She came to suffer a condition requiring her to urinate at several points during each night. The respondent had been providing a carer to stay with her each night to provide the assistance neceesary to access the commode. The claimant now appealed … Continue reading McDonald, Regina (on The Application of) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: SC 6 Jul 2011
Allowance of Stigma Damages The employees claimed damages, saying that the way in which their employer had behaved during their employment had led to continuing losses, ‘stigma damages’ after the termination. Held: It is an implied term of any contract of employment that the employer shall not without reasonable and proper cause conduct itself in … Continue reading Malik v Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI); Mahmud v Bank of Credit and Commerce International: HL 12 Jun 1997
Community Law protects women from dismissal during pregnancy save in exceptional circumstances. It was discriminatory to dismiss a female not on a fixed term contract for pregnancy. The Court rejected an interpretation of the Directive that would have rendered its provisions ineffective. The dismissal of a pregnant woman recruited for an indefinite period cannot be … Continue reading Webb v EMO Air Cargo: ECJ 14 Jul 1994
The claimant, a male to female transsexual, challenged a decision by the respondent to refuse breast augmentation treatment. The Trust had a policy ‘GRS is a Low Priority treatment due to the limited evidence of clinical effectiveness and is not routinely funded.’ Held: The claim for judicial review failed. There was no general medical concensus … Continue reading AC v Berkshire West Primary Care Trust, Equality and Human Rights Commissions intervening: Admn 25 May 2010
The claimant asserted associative disability discrimination. She was the carer for her disabled son.
Held: To succeed the claimant would have to show that associative discrimination was prohibited by the directive and that the 1995 Act could . .
