Discrimination Law: Is obesity the new disability?

Alexandra Mizzi analyses the ECJ’s decision on whether an obese childminder could bring a discrimination claim ‘Despite the controversy, the decision that a severely obese worker cannot bring a discrimination claim does not establish any radical new principle in UK employment law. It may, however, have some interesting practical implications.’ Just before the festive season …
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Justification Defence: Revisiting the ‘cost plus’ rule

Katharine McPherson reviews the decision in Woodcock v Cumbria PCT and considers what role cost may play in justifying treatment that would otherwise amount to discrimination ‘In accordance with previous case law, the court agreed that an employer cannot justify discrimination simply because not discriminating would involve increased costs.’ For some time now, case law …
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Disability Discrimination: The importance of being reasonable

Melanie Lane and Dominic Holmes argue that it is more important than ever for employers to adopt a wide-ranging and flexible approach to reasonable adjustments ‘The way in which the duty inter-relates with other strands of disability discrimination law is likely to become an increasingly significant issue as case law develops.’ The Equality Act 2010 …
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