News & Events
News & Events
For a long time, one of the hottest and most contentious questions in Equality & Diversity has been “What is a woman?” Last week, the Supreme Court answered this question in a ruling that is set to cause rewrites of policies up and down the UK. There have been various suggested answers to this question: anyone who says they are a woman; biological women plus trans-women who hold GRCs; or just biological women. Last week, the Supreme Court answered the question, at least so far as the Equality Act is concerned: a woman is someone who is biologically female. As the judges were at pains to point out, that doesn’t undermine the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. Those with that…
News 23 Apr, 2025
Courtney Step-Marsden successful in EAT appeal regarding the liability of individually named respondents under Section 110 Equality Act 2010. Naming individual employees as respondents to employment tribunal proceedings is a common issue, particularly in circumstances where the employer is not seeking to run the defence as outlined in s,109(4) Equality Act 2010. However, the recent judgment of Baldwin v Cleves School reminds us that, on a correct construction of s.109 and s.110, an employment tribunal does not have discretion to find that the named respondents are not liable for their own acts of discrimination. The EAT has recently handed down judgment in Baldwin v Cleves School and ors [2024] EAT 66 in which Courtney Step-Marsden, instructed by Elizabeth McGlone and…
News 7 May, 2024
