Discrimination in the workplace has been the focus of some notable cases recently. Ian Smith briefs us on four particularly thorny ones
- Appropriate comparators and their relationship with the statutory reversal of the burden of proof.
- Contract terms banning the wearing of overt religious signs.
- Justification of age discrimination relating directly to the provision, criterion or practice.
- Harassment ‘related to’ the protected characteristic.
For some months now, the cases considered in this brief have concentrated on developments in employment law as such. In the past month, however, there have been several more legislative changes (including the annual uprating of compensation amounts and changes to paternity rights) and a little flurry of case law on discrimination law in the employment context. The four cases mentioned here are: a consideration by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) of the role of comparators and how they interact with the burden of proof; a decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the vexed question of bans on face coverings (with an orthodox statement of the law but facts showing
