The government has published updated guidance for employers that applies in England from Monday 19 July 2021, to coincide with the ending of almost all remaining mandatory COVID-19 related restrictions. The upshot of the guidance is that the government shifts responsibility to employers to determine when and how to initiate, or ramp up, a return to the office, including what ongoing safety measures might be required.

A belief that biological sex is immutable is a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled. The case will now return to the employment tribunal to decide whether the claimant was discriminated against because of her belief when her consultancy contract was not renewed.

‘Fire-and-rehire’, the practice in which employers can dismiss employees and engage them on new/different terms (usually where consent is not obtained) has recently been in the spotlight, following reports suggesting that their use has increased during the pandemic.

The government has confirmed in its response to its 2019 consultation that it intends to establish a new single enforcement body for employment rights. The new body will enforce breaches in relation to national minimum wage, modern slavery (including modern slavery statements), employment agencies, statutory sick pay and holiday pay for vulnerable workers.

The ECJ has ruled that the EU fundamental principle of equal pay has direct effect in respect of both equal work and work of equal value claims. The ruling has paved the way for Tesco retail store employees to proceed with claims comparing their work to distribution centre colleagues.

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision that both the employer and host employer were vicariously liable for two seconded employees’ alleged dishonest assistance and knowing participation in fraudulent trading. The investment bank trader employees were so much a part of the work, business or organisation of both their employer and the host company to which they were seconded that it was just to make both employers vicariously liable.

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the lack of an interim relief remedy for discrimination dismissal claims does not breach the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). The Court of Appeal has confirmed that interim relief is not a remedy that is available to claimants bringing claims of discriminatory dismissals.

The government has updated its guidance on calculating the national minimum wage for sleep-in workers following a recent Supreme Court decision.

The UK Supreme Court has confirmed that Asda retail employees (who are nearly all women) can continue their claim for equal pay as compared to Asda’s distribution centre employees (who are nearly all men). The fact that they worked exclusively at different sites did not prevent the comparison. The decision removes one potential hurdle for claimants in equal pay litigation.

In brief In two separate appeals concerning the same individual, the Court of Appeal has held that a Christian magistrate was not victimised when he was removed from office after disapproving of same-sex adoptions in the press.  The magistrate, who was also a non-executive director of an NHS trust, was…