Case Law Alert – Eight Cases to Look Out for in 2019

In this edition:

Makbool Javaid, Partner and Head of Employment, summarises eight cases in the appellate courts to look out for in 2019 because of the practical implications for employers including: the Court of Appeal (CA) will hear an appeal against the EAT’s decision that direct discrimination had occurred because of perceived disability where it was thought that a police constable’s hearing loss would worsen; the CA will have to decide whether 7,000 equal pay claims can proceed which have been brought by supermarket employees, mainly women, who argue that their work is of equal value with that of distribution workers based at depots, who are mostly men, and are paid more; the CA will also hear an appeal against the EAT’s decision that a failure to pay a father enhanced parental leave pay was not direct sex discrimination; and, the Supreme Court will hear an appeal against the CA’s ruling that a dismissal was not automatically unfair for whistleblowing where the dismissing officer was unaware of the protected disclosure because the employee’s line manager, to whom the protected disclosure was made, manipulated the facts.