Month: July 2021

A Surge in Sick Notes For Mental Health

19 July 2021

Gogodoc, an on demand GP service, has recently revealed that there was a 78% increase in requests of sick notes for mental health issues in May.  Whilst sick notes are technically called fit notes almost everyone uses the term ‘sick note’ so I will do the same here. Throughout the pandemic experts have warned to […]

Claimant, who was subjected to sexual orientation discrimination and harassment, is awarded career-long loss

16 July 2021

In Secretary of State for Justice v Plaistow the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld the tribunal’s decision to award career loss compensation. Here Mr Plaistow was a prisoner officer. He had worked for the prison service since 2003, but in 2014 he was transferred from HMP Feltham to HMP Woodhill. Soon afterwards, Mr Plaistow was […]

Workplace Burnout – “An Occupational Phenomenon”

15 July 2021

Prior to lockdown employers believed that an employee’s productivity would reduce when working from home, however, this has not been the case. In fact, employees are reporting that they are working longer hours – starting earlier and working later – and there is an expectation to be available at all hours, which has led to […]

face masks in the workplace

14 July 2021

As the government continues to signal the green light for society to return to normal (whatever ‘normal’’ now is), many businesses are also eager to return to their pre-pandemic heyday.  For some organisations there may be a sudden shift after the ‘work from home if you can’ guidance gets scrapped and for other organisations those […]

Maya Forstater case: no further appeal on issue of ‘protected belief’

13 July 2021

Last month we reported on the landmark decision the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the case of Forstater v CGD Europe.  You can read our detailed article regarding the judgment here. Maya Forstater is a gender critical feminist whose contract was not renewed by CGD following tweets which amplified her belief in biological sex as […]

can a Claimant rely on a change of status as a “continuing act” for the purposes of the time limit for a discrimination claim?

12 July 2021

No held the EAT in Moore Stephens and others v Parr The Claimant was an equity partner of Moore Stephens LLP, a limited liability partnership accountancy firm.  Its LLP Members’ agreement provided discretion for the normal retirement age of 60 for members to be extended but on terms to be determined by the Managing Partner, […]

redeployment as a Reasonable Adjustment – D’Silva v Croydon NHS Trust

9 July 2021

Anyone who has tried to obtain redeployment as a reasonable adjustment for an employee with a disability will know that it can be a Herculean task. Even large employers will often find a list of reasons why potential alternative roles are unsuitable. Vacancies will disappear overnight, only to mysteriously reappear when the employee has left […]

the impact of covid on disabled people

8 July 2021

Regular readers of the didlaw blog will recall that a few weeks ago I reviewed the disability employment gap which focuses on the rates of disabled people compared to non-disabled people in employment.  We learned that the impact of the pandemic had reversed the trend that saw the gap narrowing.  Data published in April this […]

can you be dismissed for conduct outside of work?

7 July 2021

It was recently reported that Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer, was harassed by two men while walking through London. The incident was captured on video and shared via social media. It has since been reported that one of the men seen in the video faced a dismissal for conduct outside of work. This incident […]