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Louise Ketley

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The UK government has largely rejected recommendations to reform the existing legal framework for employees experiencing menopause, instead promoting employer-led education and support. In this article, we review the government’s response to the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee’s (the “WEC”) July 2022 report, “Menopause and the workplace” (the “WEC Report”), and consider what it means for employers.

The WEC Report considered the ways in which menopause affects women* in work and, in its own words, “wanted to understand what drove women to leave their jobs, the impact on the economy of haemorrhaging talent in this way, and the legal redress for women who have suffered menopause-related discrimination.” It made a number of recommendations to address the needs of menopausal employees and drive change, ranging from the publication of guidance and the appointment of a Menopause Ambassador, to larger scale reform of the legal framework.

The government has now confirmed that it will not be adopting the majority of the recommendations. The Chair of the WEC has voiced their disappointment and concern with the response, deeming it a “missed opportunity”.

The Report’s main recommendations and the government’s responses relevant to employers and the workplace are summarised below.…

Continue Reading Menopause and the workplace – UK employers in the driving seat

The recent case of Dafiaghor-Olomu v Community Integrated Care [2022] EAT 84 is a good demonstration of the rough justice that is occasionally dispensed by the Employment Tribunal system.

It is well known that the amount of compensation that an employer can be ordered to pay for a straightforward unfair dismissal claim is subject to a statutory maximum amount of 52 weeks’ pay (commonly referred to as the “statutory cap”).  In Dafiaghor-Olomu v Community Integrated Care, Mrs Dafiaghor-Olomu won her unfair dismissal claim against her employer. At the remedies hearing, the tribunal awarded her £46,153.55 in compensation and the employer paid this amount in full. The claimant successfully appealed the outcome of the remedies hearing and her award was subsequently increased to £128,961.59 following a second remedies hearing. The claimant appealed again to the EAT in respect of the remedy.

The key question for the EAT to determine was how the statutory cap should be applied in this unusual scenario in light of the earlier payment of £46,153.55. In particular, the EAT had to decide whether:

  1. The employer should be given credit for the earlier payment of £46,153.55 before the statutory cap was applied leaving the employer with an outstanding balance to pay of £74,200 (the statutory cap at the time of dismissal); or
  2. The statutory cap should be applied to the total award first, and then the employer given credit for the earlier payment of £46,153.55, leaving the employer with an outstanding balance to pay of £28,046.45.

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Continue Reading Unfair Dismissal Compensatory Awards – The Cost of Compliance