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15 November 2024 / Ian Smith
Issue: 8094 / Categories: Features , Employment , Human rights , Discrimination , Harassment
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Employment law brief: 15 November 2024

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Ian Smith combs through four cases addressing important issues of interpretation…including the reach of sexual harassment law
  • Whistleblowing detriment: a question of timing
  • Redundancy consultation: how collective and individual fit together.
  • Maternity leave & redundancy protection—the meaning of suitable alternative vacancy.
  • Harassment related to the prohibited ground.

The four cases considered here all address important issues of interpretation, relating to when a protected disclosure can be made, how collective and individual consultations fit together in unfair redundancy cases (especially in non-union establishments), the meaning of ‘suitable available vacancy’ in the laws protecting those on maternity leave, and the reach of sexual harassment law. The last is of particular note on its facts because it concerned one man insulting another in a way that related to the protected characteristic of sex. It shows that, as so often, the matter is resolved by logical statutory interpretation, however counter-intuitive the result may seem at first.

Whistleblowing detriment

Most of this appeal in MacLennan v The British Psychological Society [2024] EAT 166concerned the worker status of a charity

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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