News 20 - 26 August 2021

Here’s this week’s news.

This week’s news takes place against the backdrop of the carnage in Afghanistan. As if the world couldn’t get more bizarre, ‘the allies’ are now working side-by-side with the Taliban against ISIL-K, the world’s new ‘baddies’.

So let's kick off this week with some case law which looks at the issue of ‘fault’ in an accident at work.(1) Following hot on its heels is the second largest disability discrimination award in UK employment history.(2) In an article which evaluates the impact of this decision we look at whether an employer can rely on another person to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ to a disabled employee.(3) We have an article about the use of mediation by the Employment Tribunals to resolve disputes without recourse to court action.(4)  Daniel Barnett this week highlights the case of Moore v Phoenix Product Development Ltd heard by the EAT which had to consider, whether a dismissal can still be fair if the employer refuses to hear an appeal? The tribunal decided it could.(5)

And moving on to Covid related stories we start this week with a look at the decision by Australian airline company Qantas to demand that all of its staff are vaccinated under threat of disciplinary action by March 2022.(6) A new report by ProAge.org highlights the alienation felt by workers over the age of 55.(7)  A private members bill by shadow education minister, Tulip Siddiq has been presented to parliament and aims to give workers the right to request flexible working from the first day of employment.(8) And finally, Azeem Rafiq has accused Yorkshire cricket club of ‘fudging’ its investigation into his allegations of race discrimination whilst employed by the club.(9)