‘Employers “cannot simply rubber stamp” an occupational health adviser’s opinion that an employee is not disabled, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a case involving a local authority.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th December 2013
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Department of Work & Pensions has published a circular to local authorities confirming that new regulations implementing the Court of Appeal’s ruling in the Gorry case will come into force next week.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th November 2013
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
“At a time when Theresa May has declared that a future Conservative Government would repeal the Human Rights Act 1998 (‘the Act’) and the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, is leading a review of the UK’s relationship with the European Court on Human Rights, it is heartening that the judiciary is prepared to apply the Act in a manner which, surely, will attract widespread public support.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 8th November 2013
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
“The case of Mr John Scarborough v Canterbury Christ Church University (Scarborough) which was recently decided carries potentially significant implications in terms of bringing a case that may fall under separate heads of action.This article discusses this decision and its practical effect on future litigation.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 7th November 2013
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
“When facing a reasonable adjustments claim one of the first lines of defence for an employer is knowledge. An employer can avail itself of the defence of lack of knowledge of the disability (s.20 of Sch 8 of the Equality Act 2010) if it did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that the person had a disability. The defence is an impenetrable shield and often forms a key battleground at trial.”
13 KBW Employment, 18th November 2013
Zulhayir v JJ Food Service Ltd: [2013] EWCA Civ 1226; [2013] WLR (D) 396
“For an appeal to succeed on the ground of perversity an overwhelming case had to be made out that the court or tribunal below had reached a decision which no reasonable tribunal, on a proper appreciation of the evidence and the law, would have reached.”
WLR Daily, 16th October 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Finnigan v Chief Constable of Northumbria Police [2013] EWCA Civ 1191; [2013] WLR (D) 378
“When the issue arose of whether a public authority had discriminated against a disabled person in carrying out its functions, contrary to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 or the Equality Act 2010, by having in place a ‘practice, policy or procedure’ (under the 1995 Act) or a ‘provision, criterion or practice’ (under the 2010 Act) to which it had not made reasonable adjustments, the court should first identify what that practice, policy or procedure was as a question of fact, and then determine whether reasonable adjustments had been made to that policy to alleviate the detrimental effects to which a disabled person might be subjected by it. The duty to make reasonable adjustments could not be discharged on an ad hoc basis in relation to individuals but was anticipatory and owed to persons with particular kinds of disabilities as a class.”
WLR Daily, 8th October 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“People with mental illnesses are three times more likely to be victims of crime than the general population, new research suggests.”
BBC News, 7th October 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The High Court has rejected claims for a judicial review of the so-called ‘bedroom tax’. Its judgment brings to an end – for the time being at least – months of speculation about the lawfulness of arguably the most controversial aspect of the Government’s welfare reform programme.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 31st July 2013
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Fox v British Airways plc [2013] EWCA Civ 972; [2013] WLR (D) 330
“Where a claimant could establish liability for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination in respect of his son who had been a member of a company pension scheme and who died shortly after dismissal by the company for medical incapacity, the son’s estate would be entitled to compensation in a sum equivalent to the full amount of the death in service benefit that would have been payable under the scheme if the son had remained in employment at the date of his death.”
WLR Daily, 31st July 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Sud v Ealing London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 949; [2013] WLR (D) 320
“Although an award of costs against a paying party in the employment tribunal was an exceptional event, the tribunal should focus principally on the criteria established in rule 40 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004. Where the tribunal concluded that the party’s conduct of the proceedings had been unreasonable it was necessary for the court to identify the particular unreasonable conduct, along with its effect. That was not a process that entailed a detailed or minute assessment, but instead the court should adopt a broad brush approach, against the background of the totality of the relevant circumstances.”
WLR Daily, 30th July 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“The headline here, as has been widely tweeted/flashed etc, is that the challenge to the bedroom tax contained in Regulation B13, Housing Benefit Regulations (both generically and specifically in relation to households with a disabled person) was unsuccessful in the Divisional Court (R(MA) Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2013] EWHC 2213 – not on Baili yet, but available to download from Adam Wagner’s site); but the Court came close to granting injunctive relief against the Secretary of State to make regulations bringing Burnip/Gorry into effect, as opposed to relying simply on a Circular. The DWP had argued that they were entitled to rely on guidance by way of Circular ‘pending a decision on whether and at what point in time to introduce regulations’ (Laws LJ’s emphasis). On that point, rarely have I read such strong words as appear in Laws LJ’s judgment at [91]-[92]. That is an ouch moment for the DWP which, I bet, will not be widely reported, so let me headline the quote here: ‘The Secretary of State has no business considering whether to introduce regulations to conform HB provision with the judgment in Gorry. He is obliged to do so.’ The only thing which stopped injunctive relief was that their drafting was ‘under consideration’ after 14 months (!).”
NearlyLegal, 3oth July 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
“Campaigners have vowed to fight on after a legal attempt to block the Government’s so-called ‘bedroom tax’ was thrown out by the High Court.”
The Independent, 30th July 2013
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Lady Hale gives the Alison Weatherfield Memorial Lecture at the Employment Lawyers Association (PDF)
Supreme Court, 10th July 2013
Source: www.supremecourt.gov.uk
“Last year Arthur Moore and I ran a seminar in Chancery Lane on the (then) vexed question of to what extent Article 8 and Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention on Human Rights impacted upon private landlords’ possession claims.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 20th June 2013
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
“Two people with mental health problems, who claimed the test for sickness benefit would discriminate against them, have won their legal challenge.”
BBC News, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A legal test is set to begin into the government’s decision to cut housing benefit for recipients living in properties that have a spare room.”
BBC News, 15th May 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The concept of ‘disability’ in Council Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation included a condition caused by an illness medically diagnosed as curable or incurable where that illness entailed a limitation which resulted in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments which in interaction with various barriers might hinder the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and where the limitation was a long term one.”
WLR Daily, 11th April 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“This paper sets out an overview of exclusions law, focusing in particular on permanent exclusions from maintained schools and disability discrimination claims.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 3rd April 2013
Source: www.11kbw.com
“With the beginning of the bedroom tax looming up for April and upwards of 700,000 households affected, I’ve been thinking about the position when the inevitable rent arrears possessions start to appear – probably by about October – and also whether the statute itself is open to challenge.”
NearlyLegal, 10th February 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025