anyone who lived through the industrial revolution. 'Wind the bobbin up originated in the cotton mill towns of the North
RHYME TIME A SOCIAL CRIME? What are they singing?
FROM MAGS TO MEDIA Magistrate and NHS director in an anti-gay tribunal storm
ONES TO WATCH Cases you need to follow in 2018…
Your weekly bulletin of wit & wonder in the world of…
Wg Employment Issue 585/January 2018 What would we do without Mumsnet? This week one mother suggested that encouraging nursery children to sing Wind Your Bobbin In (or Wind The Bobbin Up in some parts) is offensive to anyone who lived through the industrial revolution. ‘Wind the bobbin up originated in the cotton mill towns of the North of England in Victorian times,’ she wrote. ‘As anyone who knows a bit about history can tell you, the cotton mills were horrendous places which horrifically exploited women and children, forcing them to do dangerous work in appalling conditions for little pay. ‘How can it be right to trivialise these horrors by getting children to sing a light-hearted about it?’these Could Bobbingate be the end oftonursery ‘How can it be rightditty to trivialise horrors by getting children sing a rhymes? Should we update them all for the 21st century? Here at WG Towers, we’ve some classics. Feel freeend to blamelessly light-hearted dittyalready aboutreworked it?’ Could Bobbingate be the of nursery use these henceforth: rhymes? Should we update them all for the 21st century? Here at WG Towers, we’ve already reworked some classics. Feel free to blamelessly GOOSEY GOOSEY GANDER use these henceforth: Goosey Goosey Gander Wither shall I wander Upstairs and downstairs But never in my lady’s chamber because she deserves her privacy There I met an old man who wouldn’t say his prayers But that was absolutely fine with me because I knew he was protected from discrimination on the grounds of his religious belief
THREE VISUALLY IMPAIRED MICE Three visually impaired mice Three visually impaired mice See how they run In spite of their disability They all ran after the farmer’s spouse or civil partner Who collected them in humane traps and deposited them in a distant field on the basis that she viewed that as a reasonable adjustment. Please share your updated rhymes on our Facebook page – HERE.
The media & the magistrate And speaking of 21st century sensibilities brings me to the case of Page v NHS Trust Development Authority. Mr Page was a lay magistrate and also a non-executive director (NED) of the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust. In July 2014, Mr Page, with two other magistrates, considered an adoption application by a same-sex couple. While his colleagues granted the application, Mr Page strongly opposed it. As a devout Christian he stated it was ‘not normal’ - and it was always in the child’s best interests to be raised by a mother and a father. His fellow magistrates and the clerk of the court complained about Mr Page after the case. The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice reprimanded Mr Page for allowing his religious beliefs, and not the evidence, to influence him - amounting to serious misconduct. Soon after, Mr Page gave interviews to local and national media, challenging the reprimand and re-stating his view. At least one of the interviews made a connection with Mr Page’s NHS role. Mr Page was advised by the Trust’s chairman that expressing these views could potentially have an adverse impact on the Trust’s stakeholders and undermine confidence in the Trust’s commitment to equality for LGBT people. Further, Mr Page was told that his failure to keep the Trust informed of his actions was unacceptable.
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Although acknowledging it was an error on his part not to inform the Trust in advance, Mr Page was unapologetic about publicising his views. He continued to engage with the media without informing the Trust, leading to further disciplinary action by the Lord Chancellor who removed him from the magistracy for serious misconduct. The following day Mr Page appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, an action the Trust was again not aware of until after the interview. Here he repeated his views on same-sex adoption, adding that he was also against same-sex marriage and considered homosexual activity to be wrong. The Trust referred Mr Page to the NHS Trust Development Authority, the body responsible for the appointment of NEDs. They ruled it was not in the interests of the health service for Mr Page to continue to serve as an NED in the NHS. Mr Page issued tribunal proceedings, claiming direct and indirect religious discrimination, harassment related to religion and victimisation. The tribunal dismissed all his claims for various reasons, including his disregard of the Trust’s requests to notify in advance of interviews and lack of evidence to support the claims.
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Mr Page has indicated he intends to appeal and also has separate discrimination proceedings pending against the Lord Chancellor in respect of his removal from the magistracy. The case raises a discussion regarding the extent an employer can censor the expression of religious or philosophical beliefs outside the workplace - but acts as reassurance for employers that they can take action. Depending on the nature of the case, this could include dismissal where the statements warrant it. Even if statements are an expression of religious or philosophical belief, this may not be enough to protect an employee - even a director - from action being taken.
Case by case – what to look at this year 2018 may be a ground breaking year for HR and managers. Here are two high profile cases which may change to your day to day practice.
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UBER and the gig economy Like an unpaid cabbie, this one is just not going away. When Uber drivers brought claims for unlawful deduction of wages and a failure to provide paid leave last year they were setting a precedent for many more such claims. Soon Deliveroo drivers were pursuing a similar claim and it won’t stop there. Shared parental leave As our seminar attendees may remember – we warned that this seemingly fair minded idea was likely to lead to claims of sexual discrimination in the workplace. The first case addressing this issue was Ali v Capita Customer Management. For more detail on these must follow cases – click HERE.
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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 material 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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