Hello and welcome to this week’s employment law news from Reculver Solicitors.
Dismissal because your partner is pregnant.
In Kulikaoskas v MacDuff Shellfish last week the EAT has held that a man who was dismissed could not claim ‘associative pregnancy discrimination’ because his partner was pregnant.
Mr Kulikaoskas and his partner had both been employed, and then they were both dismissed after a month. Mr Kulikaoskas claimed he was dismissed because he told a supervisor that he helped his partner lift heavy weights at work because she was pregnant.
You will recall the case of Coleman v Attridge Law in which a mother successfully relied on the principle of associative discrimination’ for a reason connected with her son’s disability. Mr Kulikaoskas tried to extend that principle to the Sex Discrimination Act. However the EAT distinguished the various EU directives, saying there was a very different body of law on the 'uniquely female state of pregnancy'.
The Equality Act 2010 does now cover associative discrimination under the Protected Characteristics of race, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, religious belief or age. However legal commentators suggest it is not entirely clear whether it will be possible to claim pregnancy related associative discrimination under the new act.
James Carmody
RECULVER SOLICITORS
Tel: 0207 324 6271 | Fax: 0207 477 2276 | info@reculversolicitors.co.uk
Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority: Firm 405070 | Principal: James Carmody | Consultant: Carol Aylott | * Serviced Office. Meetings by Appointment Only
No comments:
Post a Comment