Mar 31, 2018 - adopt a written policy on how to deal with new or existing staff who are ... He'll be working his way aro
KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN Tiangong-1 is dropping in
NAME DROPPING Primark enters the transgender hall of shame
TIPS FOR ADAM Where should our history buff intern visit?
Your weekly bulletin of wit & wonder in the world of…
Wg Employment Issue 592/March 2018 'The probability that a specific person will be struck by Tiangong-1 debris is about one million times smaller than the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot,’ a spokesperson for the Aerospace Corporation told the Guardian this week. Tiangong-1 is a Chinese space station which is due to plummet to Earth any… time…. NOW. In a decaying orbit since control was lost in 2016, it should mostly burn up in the planet’s atmosphere on re-entry, with 10-40 per cent raining down as debris. GOOD news – it’s probably going to land on the other side of the world from us. BAD news - that word ‘probably’. At present the calculations vary widely, putting the re-entry date at any time between now and early May, with most people going for April 3 in the space junk sweepstake. It’s basically an even less accurate prediction than a baby delivery due date… and with an altogether less welcome shower involved. Truly, though, the odds of being struck by falling space debris are tiny. The Aerospace Corporation’s press release assures us: 'Only one person has ever been recorded as being hit by a piece of space debris and, fortunately, she was not injured.' WHO is this person?! I just looked her up. It was Lottie Wilson, who was strolling through a park in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1997 when a small chunk of space rocket bashed her on the shoulder. I am envious. Because it would be the best excuse ever for being late - ‘Sorry… I was just hit by falling space debris.’ It’s a dinner party ice breaker nobody could ever top - ‘This is Lottie… she was struck by falling space debris.’ At the very least Lottie should have a song.
What’s in a name And speaking of burning up brings me to the case of De Souza E Souza v Primark Stores Ltd and some wholly unnecessary humiliation. Ms Alexandra De Souza, worked as a Retail Assistant in Primark’s Oxford Street store. She informed Primark that she was transgender when she applied for a role in 2016 and told her interviewer that although her passport contained her birth name, Alexander, she would prefer to be called Alexandra. Ms De Souza was told her birth name would be required for her pay but she could use whichever name she wished for her name badge. However, Primark’s HR Department did not take into account Ms De Souza’s preferred name when logging her onto the IT system. This led to her birth name being printed on her name badge and on her daily allocation sheets which were circulated to supervisors on the shop floor. A supervisor, who had previously been using Ms De Souza’s preferred name for a number of weeks, began calling her Alexander and would laugh when corrected. Further incidents of bullying and unfair treatment regarding Ms De Souza’s gender identity took place. Staff would make comments about Ms De Souza’s sexuality, some staff members sprayed men’s perfume over Ms De Souza, other staff members made inappropriate comments such as: “she’s got the devil inside her” and “she is a joke”. Ms De Souza raised complaints over the way she was being treated by staff members. These complaints were not taken seriously and Ms De Souza was told to calm down and to stop drawing attention to herself. Primark failed to properly investigate Ms De Souza’s complaints and deal EVENT SEASON 2018 with them in an appropriate manner, in particular failing to inform Ms De Souza of the outcome of her grievance and of her right to appeal. SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE Thursday 7th June
MENTAL HEALTH CHECK Tuesday 10th July
PULLING A SICKIE Wednesday 5th September
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Wednesday 17th October
12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Thursday 22nd November
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Souza was told to calm down and to stop drawing attention to herself. Primark failed to properly investigate Ms De Souza’s complaints and deal with them in an appropriate manner, in particular failing to inform her of the outcome of her grievance and of her right to appeal. Ms De Souza brought claims of constructive unfair dismissal and direct discrimination on the grounds of gender reassignment in the Employment Tribunal (ET). The ET found in her favour and was critical of how the matter had been conducted by Primark. Ms De Souza was unable to return to work for a lengthy period of time, developed panic attacks and became insecure about her gender identity. The ET found “the injury to the claimant’s feelings is very severe indeed, going to her very identity and ability to function in society” and that it was “shocking that the respondent could not devise a way of keeping the claimant’s legal name off the core allocation sheets and out of the knowledge of her supervisors”. The ET recommended that by 31 March 2018 Primark should:
“Signing up as a Peace of Mind client was one of the smartest decisions we have made as an organisation… Highly recommended.” Contact us today on 02380 717717 or email
[email protected] to find out how Peace of Mind can help your business.
adopt a written policy on how to deal with new or existing staff who are transgender or who wish to undergo gender reassignment
include a reference to the existence of a policy of confidentiality in regard to transgender new starters in training materials for managers
amend the materials used for equality training of staff, management and HR to include, if not already there, references to transgender discrimination
ensure that transgender discrimination and harassment is referred to in all of its equality and harassment policies along with any other protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010
add into the training materials for management of handling grievances.
This case highlights a number of important issues such as ensuring you have up-to-date policies to help maintain the confidentiality of sensitive employee data. Employers should also ensure staff are adequately trained to deal with grievance processes and that all complaints are dealt with in an appropriate manner.
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If you pick up a pleasing Canadian accent on the phone, that’ll be our new intern Adam Hoefel, who is building his knowledge of Employment Law with us for six months in the Peace of Mind team. You may have seen him present our retirement FAQs at our recent seminar ‘Employees make the world go round’.
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A history graduate from the University of Toronto, Adam has built expertise in immigration with a London based firm DavidsonMorris, advising corporate and private clients. He’ll be working his way around Hampshire’s museums and galleries while he’s with us. Do suggest Hampshire’s best places to see on our FACEBOOK page.
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Contact the team Sarah Whitemore (Partner) – 02380 717462 Howard Robson (Partner) – 02380 717718 Lisa Joyce (Associate) – 02380 717447 Emma Kemp (Associate) – 02380 717486 Natalie Rawson (Solicitor) – 02380 717403 DISCLAIMER While every effort is made to ensure that the contents of these diaries are up-to-date and accurate, no warranty is given to that effect and Warnergoodman does not assume responsibility for their accuracy and correctness. The diaries are provided free of charge and for information purposes only. Readers are warned that the diaries are no substitute for legal advice given after consideration of all materi al facts and circumstances by an experienced employment lawyer. Therefore, reliance should not be placed upon the legal points explained in these diaries or the commentary upon them.
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