Suche 
The European Court of Justice has ruled that a neutral dress code in the workplace that prevents employees from wearing religious clothing or symbols such as headscarves may not be direct or indirect discrimination on the ground of religion or belief if the employer fulfils a set of conditions. On 13 October, the European Court of Justice ruled, in line with its previous case law,…
A recent change in the law in Belgium lowers the threshold for labour inspectors to use ‘mystery calls’ to test for discrimination in recruitment. Our annual survey of HR trends showed that one in five companies have been faced with an informal or formal discrimination complaint, mainly on the grounds of apparent race or ethnic origin. Discrimination in recruitment still seems to be difficult to…
The UK Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that ‘gender critical’ beliefs are protected philosophical beliefs for equality law purposes, while confirming that a belief in ‘gender identity’ is also a protected characteristic. This means that it is unlawful to discriminate against someone because they do or do not hold either of those beliefs. Background to the case Maya Forstater was a consultant for CGD Europe, a not-for-profit…
This article summarises the right to ask for flexible working in the UK and explains how discrimination law applies in this context. Introduction Employees seeking a better balance between the demands of work and personal life may seek a change in their working arrangements, for example, through part-time working, job-sharing or a change in working hours. While there is no right to insist on working in…
Under new gender pay gap proposals in Brazil, employers would face heavier penalties for failing to pay men and women equally. This article explains. On 30 March, the Brazilian Senate approved a legislative bill applying a new sanction to cases where organisations have a gender pay gap without a non-discriminatory reason. If approved by the President, the bill would increase the penalties but will not…
An employee who was dismissed for refusing to remove her headscarf which her employer claimed was problematic for its brand image was a victim of discrimination, according to a recent ruling from the French Court of Cassation. Background On her return from parental leave, a saleswoman employed by a clothing retailer came to work wearing a headscarf that concealed her hair, ears and neck. The employer…
This review of legislation and case law on hair and hair styling in the workplace in the US looks at recent state and federal anti-discrimination initiatives and gives guidance to employers on how to adapt their dress code and grooming policies. Executive summary Many have said that the workplace tends to be society’s battlefield, where culture wars play out and emerging trends go up against long-established…
This series of articles looks back thematically at the employment law year, incorporating contributions from Ius Laboris member firms across the alliance. The first part covers developments in protection from harassment and discrimination. The impact of #metoo continues to be felt around the globe. In June 2019, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted a global convention on the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of…
The European Court of Justice has ruled on whether the Part-Time Work Directive should be interpreted as precluding a national provision setting the maximum duration of a fixed-term employment relationship for part-time workers for a longer period than for full-time employees. It follows from the Part-Time Work Directive that employers in the EU must not treat part-time workers less favourably than full-time employees because of…
This article describes the current state of the law on age discrimination in the workplace in France, how claims are processed and the potential penalties for employers. French age discrimination legislation has been thrown into the spotlight in light of the most recent national measures on the employment of older workers (derived from a national inter-industry collective agreement and a government policy on the employment…