Flexible working
We look at four recent employment cases brought over the mishandling of flexible working requests, including two where the tribunal found the employee had been constructively dismissed.
In Wilson v Financial Conduct Authority, the employment tribunal dismissed the senior manager's claim after finding that the FCA had carefully analysed her flexible working request and had identified genuine reasons for refusing it.
We look at three successful employment tribunal claims brought over the mishandling of flexible working requests. We also examine two Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions on getting agreement from the employee to extend the three-month decision period and the requirement for a single mother to be available to work late shifts.
In Long v British Gas Trading Ltd, an employment tribunal held that the selection for redundancy of a part-time employee who was the mother of young children was sex discrimination, less favourable treatment because of part-time working and an unfair dismissal.
In Daly v BA Cityflyer Ltd, the employment tribunal awarded £38,742 for indirect sex discrimination to an in-flight business manager whose request for flexible working on her return from maternity leave was refused.
In Thompson v Scancrown Ltd (t/a as Manors), the employment tribunal awarded £184,961 for indirect sex discrimination to an estate agent who resigned following the mishandling of her request for flexible working on her return from maternity leave.
In Broadist v HM Prison Service, an employment tribunal found that the employer's refusal to allow a semi-retired dog handler to remain working on a part-time basis with an alternative dog, after his dog had died, amounted to indirect age discrimination.
In British Airways plc v Pinaud, the Court of Appeal held that a part-time worker's contract requiring her to be available for work 53.5% of the time that a full-time comparator was required to be available for work constituted less favourable treatment because she was paid only 50% of the full-time salary.
In Roddis v Sheffield Hallam University, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that a lecturer employed under a zero hours contract was employed under the same type of contract as a permanent full-time lecturer for the purposes of his claim of less favourable treatment under the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1551).
Kirsti Laird is senior associate at Charles Russell Speechlys. She rounds up the latest rulings.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to flexible working.