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Direct discrimination
In Forstater v CGD Europe and others, an employment tribunal held that a consultant researcher was discriminated against when a think tank ended its relationship with her because of her gender-critical belief, which she had expressed on Twitter.
In Forstater v CGD Europe and others, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the consultant's belief that sex is biologically immutable amounts to a philosophical belief within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010.
In Crompton v Eden Private Staff Ltd, an employment tribunal found that jibes made by employees to a 57-year-old colleague about Alzheimer's and "senior moments" constituted harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
In Commissioner of the City of London Police v Geldart, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a failure to pay a London allowance to a police officer on maternity leave constituted direct sex discrimination and no comparator was required.
In Badara v Pulse Healthcare Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the employer should not have relied solely on negative Home Office checks when it dismissed the employee for failing to provide right to work documentation.
In Owen v Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and another, the Court of Appeal held that refusing to allow a disabled employee to undertake an overseas posting due to medical concerns did not amount to direct disability discrimination.
In Hale v Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the decision to instigate the disciplinary procedure was not a one-off act, but the start of a state of affairs that would continue until the conclusion of the disciplinary process.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that the employer subjected the claimant to direct race discrimination. The employer withdrew its offer to the claimant of a posting abroad because of a psychological assessment that warned the claimant could suffer stress as a result of racial discrimination.
In Geller and another v Yeshurun Hebrew Congregation EAT/0190/15, the EAT held that, in cases where direct discrimination is not inherent in the act complained of, a tribunal must enquire further into the motivation, conscious or unconscious, of the alleged discriminator.
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that, in cases involving direct discrimination in the workplace, it is the motive of the decision-maker that is important and not those who may have influenced the decision. Imogen Noons explains the importance of this for employers.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to direct discrimination.