Discrimination
Welcome to Allen & Overy’s Employment Talk blog, sharing with you our views into the latest trends and risks on all forms of discrimination, including direct, indirect, victimisation, equal pay, harassment, bullying, dignity at work and diversity. We will share our insights on existing protected characteristics (sex, race, sexual orientation, age, transgender, religion, disability, maternity and pregnancy) as well as those coming through the back door such as caste and new categories of disability such as obesity.
31 January 2018 - disability , mental health Sheila Fahy
How often do we – and by “we” I mean those who are able-bodied and able-minded – really think about what it is like to be disabled in the workplace? It comes up all the time for HR practitioners who have to consider reasonable adjustments for Equality Act obligations as well as temporary accommodations for › Read More
08 January 2018 - Sheila Fahy
We all know what is sometimes said about successful women in business. They are too aggressive, too ballsy, not enough gravitas, too much gravitas, too old, too frumpy, too tough, too soft, too cold, not hot enough, oddball, no life. These hackneyed stereotypes would be laughable if they didn’t manage to permeate the very concept › Read More
“Time’s Up” on sexual harassment
04 January 2018 - Discrimination Sarah Henchoz
Many are heralding 2018 as the Year of the Woman not least because it is 100 years since women (over the age of 30) were first given the right to vote in the UK. This is likely to bring with it many interesting campaigns and initiatives continuing the drive towards female equality, including the ongoing › Read More
Mental Health in the Workplace – It’s okay not to be okay
10 October 2017 - mental health Sarah Henchoz
Do you know what post-natal depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety, stress and ADHD have in common? They are every-day mental health issues experienced by employees. And yet the whole area of workplace mental health is burdened with stigma. Why? › Read More
Supreme Court widens rights for same-sex couples
11 August 2017 - Andrew Cork
The Supreme Court has ruled in two cases on the issue of whether new legislation has retrospective effect on pension rights. One case covers same-sex couples. The other case looks at part-timers. The Court ruled that the restriction in UK legislation allowing a surviving civil partner’s pension rights to be based on the member’s pension › Read More
Difference – why we can all learn something from children
23 June 2017 - Sarah Henchoz
In difficult times it is quite often children who can put a smile on our faces with the very matter-of-fact way in which they view the world around them. While we are all struggling to make sense of recent tragic events triggered in many ways by difference, it provides some comfort and hope to see › Read More
Cupid plc – is it time for a relationship policy?
14 February 2017 - David Merlin-Jones
St Valentine’s Day: time to shower other halves with flowers, chocolates and other tokens of affection… all well and good after work is finished, but what about those with significant others sitting right next to them in the office? Personal relationships between employees do happen and, increasingly, employers have personal relationship policies in place to › Read More