This chapter considers the employment law aspects of discrimination and health and safety. It discusses the meaning of the protected characteristics which were brought together under the Equality Act 2010 and considers prohibited conduct under the Act. It explains the difference between direct and indirect discrimination and when direct discrimination can be justified. The chapter discusses the difference between positive action and positive discrimination and the interaction between protected characteristics and prohibited conduct. It also explains the law relating to harassment and victimization. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the law covering health and safety in the workplace, looking at both criminal law and civil law.
Chapter
14. Discrimination and Health and Safety
Chapter
24. Blackmail and related offences
This chapter deals with blackmail and related offences. The crime of blackmail involves making any unwarranted demand with menaces. Blackmail initially appears to have been coextensive with robbery and attempted robbery, but has since embraced more subtle methods of extortion. The law is currently set out in s 21 of the Theft Act 1968. This chapter considers unwarranted demand, the paradox of blackmail, the requirement of a view to gain or intent to cause loss, unlawful harassment of debtors, and other offences based on threats including threats to kill, threats to damage property, threats of food terrorism, demanding payment for unsolicited goods with threats, robbery, assaults, threats of violence for the purpose of securing entry to premises, and sending malicious communications.
Chapter
24. Blackmail and related offences
David Ormerod and Karl Laird
This chapter deals with blackmail and related offences. The crime of blackmail involves making any unwarranted demand with menaces. Blackmail initially appears to have been coextensive with robbery and attempted robbery, but has since embraced more subtle methods of extortion. The law is currently set out in s 21 of the Theft Act 1968. This chapter considers unwarranted demand, the paradox of blackmail, the requirement of a view to gain or intent to cause loss, unlawful harassment of debtors and other offences based on threats including threats to kill, threats to damage property, threats of food terrorism, demanding payment for unsolicited goods with threats, robbery, assaults, threats of violence for the purpose of securing entry to premises and sending malicious communications.
Chapter
4. Discrimination in employment
Ian Smith, Owen Warnock, and Gemma Mitchell
This chapter discusses anti-discrimination law in the UK in the employment sphere. After providing a brief history of the development of UK discrimination law, it introduces the Equality Act 2010, explaining the forms of discrimination it covers and how it works. Key concepts of equality law are then discussed, including direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimization. The chapter examines each protected characteristic in turn, highlighting the issues specific to each, including equal pay, sex-discriminatory dress codes, the additional protections against discrimination afforded to disabled people, compulsory retirement ages, and the apparent clash between protections against sexual orientation discrimination and religious discrimination.
Chapter
11. Virtual criminality
This chapter examines the law on virtual crimes, including those covering Internet pornography, photographs and pseudo-photographs, and multimedia products. It discusses the difficulty of applying localised concepts of obscenity—which are dictated by cultural, religious, and societal values—in the global environment of the Internet. It also considers the issue of cyber bullying and harassment. It is shown that nation states have difficulty enforcing their own policies regarding what is or is not acceptable. However, matters assume a different perspective when there is a commonality of approach between the jurisdiction where material is hosted and where it is accessed. In this, the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime is a significant, albeit limited, development.
Chapter
10. Performance of the Contract of Employment
This chapter begins with a discussion of the personal nature of the employment contract, and the fact that such a contract is necessarily one of personal service which gives rise to duties and obligations on both sides. It deals with issues such as the implied duties of the employer to provide for the employee (including the implied duty to provide work, pay wages, confidentiality, and the implied duty of trust and confidence), and the corresponding implied obligations of the employee (including the duty of faithful service, duty to use skill and care). There is also a discussion of whistleblowing and public interest disclosures. It then explains employer’s vicarious liability, and harassment and bullying.
Chapter
10. Introduction to Employment Equality Law
This chapter examines the pros and cons of interfering in the labour market via the promulgation of anti-discrimination laws. It evaluates the basic theoretical constructs which are relevant to a proper understanding of anti-discrimination law in the UK and the EU, including the possible policy responses (e.g. the distinction between formal equality and substantive equality). It briefly assesses the historical development of anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, and then analyses key statutory concepts such as direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment. Finally, the chapter considers victimization—an important issue since there is little purpose in statutory concepts if the employer can intimidate the employee, thus preventing him/her from bringing or continuing proceedings on one of these bases and/or by subjecting him/her to retaliation.
Chapter
16. Non-fatal offences against the person
This chapter focuses on non-fatal offences against the person, including assault and battery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, wounding or inflicting grievous bodily harm, and wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent. It also discusses defences to assault and battery, including consent (and the role of consent in offences beyond a battery), and lawful chastisement, in addition to the Law Commission’s Report on reforming offences against the person. Discussions also extend to non-fatal strangulation and suffocation, racially or religiously aggravated offences, and aggravated assault, together with ill-treatment or wilful neglect, poisoning, false imprisonment, kidnapping and other abduction offences, harassment and stalking, domestic abuse, and encouraging or assisting serious self-harm.
Chapter
9. Intentional Interference
This chapter begins with a discussion of the meaning of intentional interference. It then considers assault, battery, false imprisonment, and residuary trespass and harassment. Intentional physical interference with the person may occur by way of an act that threatens violence (assault), amounts to unlawful contact (battery), or constitutes the deprivation of liberty (false imprisonment). There is, in addition, a residuary and uncertain form of liability for the intentional infliction of physical harm, known as the rule in Wilkinson v. Downton. These torts are normally actionable without proof of damage and they also involve a sharp distinction being drawn between an act and an omission: the latter will not normally suffice to ground liability.
Chapter
16. Sex discrimination
This chapter deals with sex discrimination law under the Equality Act. It discusses the historical and legal background of sex discrimination law, protected characteristics and prohibited conduct on grounds of sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is symmetrical in that it can be claimed by both men and women. Direct sex discrimination cannot be justified unless there is an occupational requirement while indirect sex discrimination can be objectively justified. A person who has been treated less favourably for claiming sex discrimination or giving evidence in such a matter can claim victimisation. A person can claim harassment, and sexual harassment is also specifically outlawed in the Equality Act. The chapter also discusses dress codes.
Chapter
11. The Equality Act 2010: key concepts
The Equality Act was passed to harmonise the myriad of statutes and regulations that previously combined to make the body of discrimination law. The Act therefore brings all the disparate legislation together, and purports to establish a consistent body of anti-discrimination law. This chapter discusses the scope of the Act and the protected characteristics and explains prohibited conduct such as direct discrimination (including associative and perceived discrimination), indirect discrimination, harassment, victimisation, positive action, burden of proof, remedies if discrimination is proved, and debates over the issue of direct and indirect discrimination, such as whether each should be capable of justification
Chapter
14. Race discrimination
This chapter deals with race discrimination law under the Equality Act. Race includes colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins. The chapter discusses the historical and legal background of race discrimination law, protected characteristics, prohibited conduct on grounds of race discrimination, and bringing an action in the employment tribunal. Race discrimination legislation mirrors that of other discrimination law. It covers direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment. For direct discrimination, it also looks at perceptive and associative discrimination, and considers who the comparator may be. It also looks at occupational requirements, which are a defence to an accusation of direct discrimination.
Chapter
16. Non-fatal offences against the person
David Ormerod and Karl Laird
This chapter focuses on non-fatal offences against the person, including assault and battery, wounding and inflicting grievous bodily harm, poisoning offences, kidnapping, harassment and possession and use of offensive weapons. The chapter also discusses defences to assault and battery including consent and lawful chastisement, in addition to the Law Commission’s Report on reforming offences against the person. The discussion includes a detailed analysis of the relevant statutory offences including the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. It also considers coercive control as well as racially or religiously aggravated versions of the relevant offences.
Chapter
2. Intentional Interference with the Person
Donal Nolan and Ken Oliphant
This chapter begins with a general section considering the historical background of civil wrongs now classified as intentional interference with the person, along with the relationship between trespass and fault and the meaning of ‘intention’. The remainder of the chapter deals first with the component elements of trespass to the person, namely the torts of assault, battery and false imprisonment, followed by a discussion of the tort of intentional infliction of physical or emotional harm and the statutory cause of action for harassment. The final section deals with the four main defences to the torts discussed in the chapter—lawful arrest and detention, consent, necessity and self-defence.
Chapter
5. Discrimination at work, prohibited conduct, and enforcement
Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on the provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Applicants for jobs must not be asked about their health or disability in the recruitment process. Prohibited conduct refers to direct and indirect discrimination, harassment, and victimisation. Segregation on racial grounds is also prohibited. In addition, there is no minimum period of employment needed before one can make a discrimination claim.
Chapter
31. Offences against public order (additional chapter)
David Ormerod and Karl Laird
The Public Order Act 1986 is the principal source of public order offences. These are riot, violent disorder and affray, along with inducing fear of violence and behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Some of the offences in the 1986 Act may be committed in private, but their public order foundations are paramount and these offences should not be treated as merely additional offences against the person. This chapter deals with offences against public order. It also considers harassment, alarm or distress, racially aggravated public order offences and acts intended or likely to incite racial or religious hatred and hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. The chapter concludes by looking at public nuisance and vicarious liability.
Chapter
4. Equality in Employment
This chapter considers those provisions of the Equality Act 2010 that relate to employment law. These generally are to be found in Parts 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the Act, together with provisions found in various schedules. Topics discussed include key concepts of the Act; various types of prohibited conduct such as direct and indirect discrimination; the protected characteristics in the Equality Act (namely age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation); defences such as justification and occupational requirements; discrimination in employment; provisions in the Equality Act that are common to all of the protected characteristics; comparators; occupational requirements; submitting a complaint; enforcement powers of the Equality and Human Rights Commission; and other protected groups. It also covers ex-offenders and rehabilitation periods.
Chapter
31. Offences against public order
The Public Order Act 1986 is the principal source of public order offences. These are riot, violent disorder, and affray, along with inducing fear of violence and behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm, or distress. Some of the offences in the 1986 Act may be committed in private, but their public order foundations are paramount and these offences should not be treated as merely additional offences against the person. This chapter deals with offences against public order. It also considers harassment, alarm or distress, racially aggravated public order offences and acts intended or likely to incite racial or religious hatred, and hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. The chapter also examines offences under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (public nuisance) as well as those under the Public Order Act 2023.
