Employment law stories in the news – 21.01.2019 to 27.01.2019

In the latest of our series of posts on employment law stories in the news, we take a look at ten employment law stories that have made headlines between 21 January 2019 and 27 January 2019

  1. Lesbian textile worker who was told to keep her sexuality quiet because ‘there were no other gay people in the firm’ wins sex discrimination case – A lesbian told to keep her sexuality secret has won a sex discrimination case against the boss who told her to stay in the closet (The Daily Mail)
  2. Restrictive covenants under spotlight at Supreme Court – The Supreme Court will today hear a dispute surrounding restrictive covenants in employment contracts, a case that could have profound implications for the people working in partnerships (The Law Society Gazette)
  3. DWP acted ‘perversely’ in sacking of disabled woman, judge finds – A disabled woman was discriminated against when she was unfairly sacked by the Department for Work and Pensions, which behaved in a “perverse” and “blinkered” manner, a judge has found (The Guardian)
  4. Carrie Gracie’s lawyer claims BBC must ‘radically’ change equal pay stance – The lawyer of former BBC editor Carrie Gracie has warned that unless the BBC makes radical equal pay reforms, it will erode the trust of staff, politicians, and the public (York Press)
  5. Campaign to stop employers using NDAs to “cover up” pregnancy and maternity discrimination – The campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed has launched a campaign to persuade the government to stop companies using non disclosure agreements to “silence staff” (Lexology)
  6. Appeal restores unrepresented litigant’s claim after system bounced oversize email – The Court of Appeal has granted leniency to a litigant whose first attempt at submitting a document failed because the electronic file was too big (The Law Society Gazette)
  7. NDAs now commonplace in employment disputes, parliamentary committee hears – The use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) is now commonplace across a range of employment disputes, a parliament select committee has heard, fuelling concerns that such arrangements are allowing damaging and discriminatory behaviour to flourish in the workplace (People Management)
  8. Female director sues Coutts for ‘unspoken sexism’ – A female director at Coutts is suing the company for more than £400,000, claiming she faced “unspoken sexism” and a “triple-glazed” glass ceiling while working at the private bank (FN London)
  9. Former Tesco executive Chris Bush sues retailer alleging unfair dismissal – One of three former Tesco executives cleared in a criminal prosecution brought over the retailer’s £250m accounting scandal is taking his former employer to an employment tribunal (The Financial Times)
  10. Government to consult on extending discrimination protections for new parents – The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has today (Friday 25 January 2019) launched a consultation that proposes to extend the current discrimination protections for pregnant women and new parents returning to work (Employee Benefits)