The appropriate use of confidentiality agreements in the employment context has come under a lot of scrutiny given the #MeToo campaign; a recent case illustrates how the courts may approach the issue of enforceability. In Linklaters LLP v Mellish, Linklaters was… Read more

With the second deadline for gender pay gap reports a month away, more guidance has been published (in addition to that covered here). The Government Equalities Office has published two sets of guidance, Eight ways to understand your gender pay… Read more

A recent law (law n°2018-771 dated 5 September 2018) has implemented a new obligation for companies of more than 50 employees to publish each year (through their website or by any means as long as their employees are informed of… Read more

In a bid to increase the diversity of workforces, and increase access to employment for those with disabilities, Taiwan has a quota for the number of disabled employees. We take a look at how this works in practice. ... Read more

South Korea continues to overhaul its labour and employment landscape. We look at some upcoming changes to the notice of dismissal provisions and the prohibition of workplace harassment rules – both effective this year. ... Read more

The Court of Appeal has given two rulings in the long-running equal value claim against Asda, in both cases ruling on preliminary points in favour of the store workers claiming equal pay with distribution depot workers. The claims will now… Read more

Malaysia's Ministry of Human Resources has recently proposed amendments to the Industrial Relations Act 1967 ("IRA") which, if introduced, would result in, amongst others, significant changes to the dispute resolution regime for employment claims in Malaysia. ... Read more

The Home Office has published a revised Code of Practice on preventing illegal working, which reflects the ability for employers to check certain employees' right to work records solely by online check from 28 January 2019 (see here). The Government… Read more

As the second deadline for reports approaches, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has published a report urging employers to accompany their figures with narrative reports and action plans with concrete, time-bound target-driven activities to reduce the gap. The report highlights… Read more

The Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Appeal decision that treatment of a disabled employee which is advantageous (permitting ill health early retirement) cannot be viewed as unlawful 'unfavourable treatment' due to disability simply because it could have been… Read more

The Government has today published its response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report published in July of this year (see our blog post here) on sexual harassment at work.  It has noted the lack of data and research… Read more

Just in time for your holiday reading, we've compiled our Top 10 Trends in employment and industrial relations in Australia for 2018. Click here to review our selection. We'd love to hear your thoughts if you have any comments. ... Read more

The Government has published a framework for large employers to report voluntarily on disability, mental health and wellbeing in their workplace. It suggests that employers publish a narrative explaining their activities in relation to the recruitment and retention of disabled… Read more

On 30 November 2018, legislation was gazetted which proposes various amendments to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance, Disability Discrimination Ordinance, Family Status Discrimination Ordinance and the Race Discrimination Ordinance. The proposed amendments reflect eight of the recommendations from the Equal Opportunities… Read more

The Fair Work Amendment (Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2018 passed both houses of Parliament on Thursday 6 December 2018 and also received royal assent on Tuesday 11 December 2018. The Bill inserts a new entitlement in the National Employment Standards… Read more

The Victorian state election on Saturday 24 November 2018 was characterised by large swings, with the Liberal party losing several previously safe seats and Premier Daniel Andrews successfully leading the ALP to a clear victory, having significantly increased its majority.… Read more

In part two of our comparative table here, we consider whether employers may offer benefits to LGBTI employees and their spouses/partners in Thailand, Indonesia and Japan. Read more

Unlock has published new guidance for employers on criminal record checks, to which the ICO has contributed. The guidance states that checks at the application stage are unlikely to be necessary for most jobs and therefore likely to be a… Read more

Workplace violence is a significant and ongoing risk that employers should be alive to because it affects employee health, safety and wellbeing, which in turn impacts on productivity, absenteeism, sickness and replacement costs, to name a few.  In respect of… Read more

The Government Equalities Office has published a summary of the 2017/18 gender pay gap data submitted by employers as at May 2018, along with an Interim Gender Pay Gap Employer Insights Survey conducted at the end of 2017. The summary… Read more

In part one of our comparative table here, we consider whether employers may offer benefits to LGBTI employees and their spouses/partners in Singapore, Hong Kong and China. Read more

In an earlier bulletin, we looked at a landmark Tokyo District Court decision that clarified the circumstances under which benefits given to permanent employees but not to fixed term employees could amount to "unreasonable differences" in labour conditions, which are… Read more

Employers should consider carefully whether there may be a connection between an employee's disability and their conduct before dismissing or taking disciplinary action for that conduct. In Sheikholeslami v University of Edinburgh the EAT confirmed that a claim of discrimination… Read more

The Government has published a consultation on ethnicity pay reporting, making clear its position that this should become mandatory (possibly subject to a trial or phased approach with 'early adopters'). The consultation is open until 11 January 2019. The consultation… Read more

In the much-publicised judgment in Lee v Ashers Baking Co Ltd, the Supreme Court has ruled that it was not unlawful direct discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation for a bakery to refuse to bake a cake bearing the… Read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal in X v Y Ltd has ruled that an email containing advice from an in-house lawyer was not protected by privilege due to the “iniquity principle”, as there was a strong prima facie case that it advised on… Read more

Employers who receive a reference detailing a potential recruit's significant absence levels in their last job risk a disability discrimination claim if they withdraw the offer for that reason without making further enquiries about the individual's health and possible reasonable… Read more

The EAT in Saad v Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust has held that an employee was able to claim victimisation where subjected to detriment for alleging discrimination even though the allegation was made for an ulterior motive (to deflect criticism… Read more

The House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee has launched an inquiry into the enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 and the effectiveness of the EHRC, with submissions sought by 5 October 2018. Lack of enforcement was one of the… Read more

On 2 August 2018 the House of Commons' Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee published a report on the gender pay gap reporting obligation introduced from April 2017. The report notes that the national median gender pay gap is 18.4%,… Read more