HRizon Employment Law Newsletter - August 2021

• Published date: 09 September 2021
• Law Firm: Hill Dickinson
• Author: Ms Laura Marginson, Jeff Middleton, Kerstie Skeaping, James Williams, Michael Wright, Amy Millson and Luke Green

Welcome to our August HRizon employment newsletter. We consider important decisions regarding employer dress codes and the burden of proof in discrimination claims. We also highlight other recent employment law cases and HR news from the last month, including the latest raft of COVID-19 related employment tribunal decisions.

In the Supreme Court:

Discrimination: the claimant bears the initial burden of proof

In discrimination claims, if the worker proves facts from which the tribunal could conclude, in the absence of an adequate explanation, that the employer has (or is to be treated as having) committed an unlawful act of discrimination, harassment or unequal pay, the tribunal must uphold the complaint unless the employer proves that it did not commit (or is not to be treated as having committed) the act complained of (s136 Equality Act 2010). This definition was introduced in 2010 and differs from the burden of proof provisions of the legacy legislation. The Supreme Court recently considered: (1) Whether the new wording has altered the burden of proof in employment discrimination cases; and (2) When a tribunal may draw adverse inferences from the absence of a potential witness.

The worker (E) worked as a postman for the respondent, Royal Mail. He was born in Nigeria and identifies as a black African and Nigerian. He has qualifications in computing...