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01 January 2009 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7350+7351 / Categories: Features , Discrimination
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Benefits & ageism

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Ian Smith contemplates some murky borderlines

The principal news in recent employment law has been the Employment Act 2008 receiving Royal Assent. The all-important provisions repealing the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures are to be brought into force by order, but the word on the street is that April 2009 is still the target date. With this in view, the other piece of news at this level is that the new ACAS Code of Practice No 1 (on discipline and grievance) has been published and is on the ACAS website (www.acas.org.uk)This is the finalised version which has now been put before Parliament for approval, again with April in mind.

However, there is one other piece of news of some interest, in relation to a particular case. There was reported in this briefi ng on 15 August (158 NLJ 7334, p 1162) the decision of the Court of Appeal in Allen v GMB [2008] EWCA 810, [2008] All ER (D) 207 (Jul) holding the union liable for indirect sex discrimination in not pursuing fully certain female members’ rights to back pay in the

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