Newsletter – March 2008

New "Fairness Act" will replace all Equality Laws

A "one stop" shop bringing together more than 100 Acts, codes and directives introduced since the sixties to outlaw discrimination will soon be introduced by the Government. In a statement last week, Harriet Harman, the minster for equality, said that the new "Fairness Act" will sweep away all existing laws, introducing a single requirement for employees to be treated fairly. And the new law will include measures to prevent mixed-sex clubs, such as golf clubs, from holding "ladies’ nights", and a right, enshrined in law, for mothers to breastfeed in public.

We will keep you posted as further news emerges. This is a major development.

£16,000 for stereotypical assumption that capability equals experience and experience equals older age.

In our last edition, we reported on a young woman who had been awarded £2,000 for being told she was "too young" after serving four months at Spearmint Rhino's. Last week the law got tougher. A 19-year-old has won her age discrimination case after claiming she was sacked for being too young. Leanne Wilkinson, who was 18 at the time, claimed that she had been discriminated against when she was dismissed from her job as an administrative assistant at Springwell Engineering in Newcastle, having been told that she was too young for the job and they needed an older person with more experience. The Employment Tribunal ruled in her favour and judged that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of age.

Wilkinson was awarded £16,000 in compensation. The Tribunal also stated that the company had relied upon a "stereotypical assumption that capability equals experience and experience equals older age....age was the predominant reason for the decision to dismiss."

Record £13.4 million sought in sex discrimination damages

Gill Switalski, a 51 year-old mother of two disabled sons, is seeking £13.4m in compensation after winning her sex discrimination claim against City Fund manager, F & C Asset Management. Ms. Switalski, previously head of legal affairs at F & C is said to have been subjected to an 18 month campaign of bullying and intimidation over her working hours. A London Employment Tribunal found that Ms. Switalski was intentionally excluded from senior management meetings, subjected to unfair treatment over her bonus and appraisal and was treated less favourably than a male employee, who also had a child with special needs.

In 2006, Ms. Switalski contracted an infection following surgery and went on sick leave suffering from stress. Ms. Switalski never returned to work and instead lodged a number of complaints against her former employer in the Employment Tribunal, including sex discrimination and harassment.

A hearing to determine the amount of compensation that will be awarded to Ms. Switalksi has been postponed pending an appeal by F & C. However, Ms. Switalski is reported to be seeking nearly 100 times her annual salary of £140,000 for resulting psychiatric problems, loss of pension benefits and diminished career prospects as a result of the treatment by F & C. When calculating the level of compensation which should be awarded in a successful discrimination claim, the tribunal will seek to assess the financial compensation necessary to put the employee back into the position she would have been in were it not for the discrimination. If the tribunal awards Ms. Switalski anything like the amount she is claiming, this will be a record-breaking award. Between April 2006 - March 2007, the highest known tribunal award for sex discrimination was £64,862, with the average award being £10,052.

Laws on Pregnancy and Maternity Discrimination change on 6th April 2008

With effect from 6 April 2008 the law will be amended to eliminate the requirement of a comparator in cases of alleged pregnancy or maternity discrimination. A woman will instead only have to show that she has been treated less favourably on the ground of her pregnancy or the fact that she has taken, or sought to take, statutory maternity leave. In its explanatory memorandum that accompanies the new Regulations, the Government gives the following examples of situations in which women might benefit from the changes:

1. Where an employer refuses to let a pregnant employee take additional toilet breaks; or
2. Where a pregnant woman whose job requires heavy-lifting which she cannot perform while pregnant is nonetheless required to carry out heavy-lifting duties.

And Maternity, Paternity, Adoption and Statutory Sick Pay rises

Statutory sick pay will rise from the start of the new financial year to £75.40 per week. Statutory maternity, paternity and adoption pay will also increase to £117.18 per week. For further information go to: www.berr.gov.uk

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is also providing new mothers with a guide to sorting out their budget and working out their benefit and tax credit entitlements. The new guide, 'The Parents' Guide to Money', will be distributed by midwives to all pregnant women. The guide gives information on all the financial aspects of having a baby, including budgeting, tax credits and the Child Trust Fund. There is also an interactive CD which allows parents to input their financial details so they can work out a budget or how much they are eligible for in tax credits and child benefit.

Guide sections cover: countdown to becoming a parent, budgeting, benefits, work, savings, borrowings and first years. Visit www.fsa.gov.uk for information and free calculator.

Those Winter Blues! - Stress Buster

A survey by the Samaritans has just reported that over 80% of workers have been bullied during their careers and a third are so stressed that they have dreamed of quitting for a life abroad. Other findings included:-

1. 49% of people are worried about the effect stress can have on their health
2. 32% of workers feel their employers turn a "blind eye" to stress
3. Over half have seen colleagues cry under pressure
4. 83% would rather say they were sick with flu or another problem rather than admit being stressed

A full copy of the report "Stressed Out" can be obtained from: www.stressdownday.org and we have produced a free fact sheet from our training courses on expected management standards in policies and procedures dealing with stress. Send for a copy today.

"Sick note culture" costing £100bn every year - massive reforms planned

The full scale of Britain's "sick note culture" has been revealed as the largest review ever conducted into the problem shows that illness and disability cost Britain more than £100 billion a year. Under new Government proposals doctors, social services and counsellors will be brought in to try to get long-term absentees back to work. At the same time, measures will be introduced to prevent people with minor conditions from joining the long-term sick. Last week, the Government announced that from 2010 all those claiming incapacity benefits, currently 2.6 million, would have to undergo tests to prove that they are unfit. The Government's welfare reform adviser, David Freud, believes 1.9 million are claiming the benefit unnecessarily. The report will also recommend that health and well-being should be reported in company accounts and that "case managers" should work in GPs' surgeries to help patients deal with other problems such as debts, stress and childcare.