Retirement of employees

As from 6 of April 2011 – no forced retirement notices can be issued to your employees This is due to new laws that are to take effect in October 2011 which mean employers are no longer able to dismiss staff simply on the grounds that they have reached 65. Whilst at the moment the power lies with the employer who is able to lawfully dismiss an employee on this basis, as of October an employer must be able to prove they are ‘objectively justified’ to dismiss a worker on these grounds.


Posted by Employment Lawyers

Q. Are claims for associative discrimination valid?

Question: Are claims for associative discrimination valid?




Answer by Employment Lawyer: Disability discrimination can encompass associative discrimination of a carer, as established in the case of Coleman v Attridge Law. However, this does not extend to associative protection under the Sex Discrimination Act, for example a claim cannot be made on the grounds of a partner becoming pregnant.

What happens if unfair discrimination is just one of the causes to my illness, is this enough to claim?

Question: What happens if unfair discrimination is just one of the causes to my illness, is this enough to claim?

Answer by Employment Lawyer:

A claim will be allowed if the discrimination is found by the courts to be a ‘material’ cause of the ill health. There must be a casual link between the discrimination and the ill health and if this has resulted in any loss of earnings, for example, the courts will take these into account. The courts will also make an assessment over the extent to which the unlawful discrimination has contributed to the ill health and will reduce the damages accordingly, for example if they are found to have contributed 40%, the courts will reduce the total awarded damages by 60%.