In this
update:
Indirect discrimination –
establishing a pool for
comparison
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that a pension
scheme rule which excluded retired teachers who
returned to work on a part-time basis, but not
those who returned on a full-time basis,
constituted indirect sex discrimination. The
correct pool to determine whether the rule had a
disproportionate impact on women consisted of
members of the pension scheme who had returned
to work after retirement, rather than the entire
teaching profession.
In
Somerset County Council and another v
Pike, Mrs Pike was one of the claimants in
a test case involving a group of 74 teachers.
She claimed that the rules of the Teachers'
Pension Scheme were indirectly discriminatory on
the grounds of sex. Under the rules, a teacher
who retired and returned to teaching full-time
could rejoin the pension scheme. However, a
teacher who retired and returned to teaching on
a part-time basis could not rejoin the pension
scheme. Mrs Pike claimed that this amounted to
indirect sex discrimination because it
disadvantaged a substantially higher proportion
of women than men.
The
Employment Tribunal held that the correct pool
to determine whether the rule had a
disproportionate impact should contain the
entire teaching profession, as they were all
potentially affected by the rule. Mrs Pike
appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal
(EAT), which held that the pool should exclude
pre-retirement teachers and should only consist
of members of the pension scheme who had
returned to work after retirement. Those who had
not retired had no advantage out of the
post-retirement rule favouring full-time
employees: it simply did not apply to them and
they could only distort the view of the pool.
The
Court of Appeal upheld the EAT's decision and
reasoning in relation to the narrower pool. The
Court of Appeal agreed with the comments made by
Baroness Hale in Rutherford and another v
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry,
that by adopting the entire teaching profession
as the appropriate pool for comparison, the
Employment Tribunal brought into the equation
people who have no interest in the advantage or
disadvantage in question. Although the Court of
Appeal noted that there may not be a single
suitable pool for every case, there was only one
logical pool in this case. The case was remitted
to the same Employment Tribunal to hear
arguments on justification.
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EHRC consults
private and voluntary sector employers on gender
pay gap
The
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has
launched a consultation this
week to identify the most appropriate way for
private and voluntary sector employers with at
least 250 staff to measure and report on their
gender pay gap.
The
EHRC believes that developing ways for employers
to measure and report on their gender pay gap
will be a crucial step towards reducing pay
inequity by providing greater transparency. It
is working closely with the business sector,
including the Confederation of British Industry
(CBI) and with the Trades Union Congress (TUC),
to develop a consistent way to measure the
gender pay difference in organisations.
The
aim is to empower private and voluntary sector
employers to report on a voluntary basis, but
the Equality Bill does contain a reserve power
which, if a future Secretary of State chose to
use it, could lead to mandatory reporting if
progress has not been made on a voluntary basis
by 2013. Consultation closes on 28 October
2009.
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FSA introduces
remuneration code of practice
The Financial Services Authority (FSA)
has introduced a new code that will require
large banks, building societies and broker
dealers in the UK to establish, implement and
maintain remuneration policies consistent with
effective risk management.
The
new code is designed to achieve two objectives:
-
make
boards focus more closely on ensuring that the
total amount distributed by a firm is consistent
with good risk management and
sustainability
-
ensure
that individual compensation practices provide
the right incentives
It
is not expected that firms will enter into
contracts with individuals which provide
guaranteed bonuses for more than one year. It is
also expected that for senior employees
two-thirds of bonuses will be spread over three
years. Firms are expected to provide the FSA
with a remuneration policy statement by the end
of October. This will have to be signed off by
remuneration committees and will enable the FSA
to check compliance with the code. Non-compliant
firms could face enforcement action.
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the top
Increase in minimum wage for
apprentices
The
statutory minimum wage for apprentices rose from
£80 to £95 a week on 1 August 2009. Apprentices
are exempt from the National Minimum Wage so
must receive at least this minimum contractual
payment. The rise is expected to benefit around
26,000 apprentices.
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Support needed to encourage
older people back to work
Long-term
unemployed older people are at risk of never
working again unless tailored support is offered
to help them back into work, according to a
recent TUC report.
The report
is based on findings from the English
Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), which shows
that unemployed people over 50 are ten times as
likely to still be out of work after two years
than back in work. The TUC notes that a period
of long-term unemployment for an older person
increases their chances of never working again
and that this is particularly the case for men.
For every year of unemployment, men are 24.3 per
cent less likely to find work again. The TUC has
called for Government programmes to be
age-proofed and customised to meet the needs of
the over-50s.
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Half of
businesses considering redundancies
One in two companies is considering or
certain to make redundancies over the next six
months, according to the latest British Chambers
of Commerce (BCC) Monthly Business Survey.
The results from 450 companies across
the UK also confirm that demand remains low,
with not a single business reporting that they
will increase stock holdings over the next three
months. 1 in 2 businesses also do not see growth
returning until the first half of
2010.
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Swine flu – minimal impact on
business
Swine flu is currently having little
impact on businesses, according to a recent
survey of UK bosses.
Based on a survey of 756 members of
the Institute of Directors, 85% of directors
said that their business is not being hugely
disrupted by swine flu. Many of the companies
surveyed have issued guidance notes outlining
how their business should deal with such an
outbreak. Some directors expressed dismay at a
small minority of employees, who appear to be
taking advantage of the general guidance that
has been given by the authorities.
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