Guest blog: Nick Lindsay is Director of Elemental CoSec, a provider of corporate governance and company secretarial services. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific advice or acted upon without seeking specific legal advice. Whilst women have become ever present in the corporate world, there is one [...]
Archive for the ‘Equality’ Category
March 12, 2012
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A new approach to sexism in the UK, dear?
By Dónal Kearney in EqualityThe triumph of Meryl Streep at the 2012 Golden Globes may have seemed predictable to many. This woman from New Jersey has come to dominate the film industry, attracting critical acclaim with every role she accepts. Her working life is regarded as an example of success surpassing almost all of her colleagues, male and female [...]
February 16, 2012
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The power of prayer or the power to pray
By David Lawson in Equality, Right to religionAuthor: David Lawson is a barrister at Hardwicke and Public Law specialist. He considers the High Court ruling in Bone v. Bideford on the lawfulness of saying formal prayers before council meetings. Bideford Town Council is a parish council in Devon. Each month it holds full council meetings in public. At the start of each [...]
January 4, 2012
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Challenging government cuts: library closures
By Leon Glenister in Equality, Judicial ReviewGovernment cuts have led to a flurry of judicial review actions: from challenging court closures, to challenging the restriction of eligibility criteria for care assistance, even to challenging the basis on which public sector pensions are calculated. Just before Christmas the much-publicised library closures issue hit the Court of Appeal in Bailey v Brent [2011] [...]
December 17, 2011
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Should marital status determine a parent’s right to adopt?
By Dónal Kearney in EqualityA Belfast court has heard that it is not in a child’s interests to be adopted by gay parents in Northern Ireland. Laws in the rest of the UK facilitate adoption by homosexual individuals, but this right is not granted in Northern Ireland. As per Article 14 of the Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987, adoption [...]
December 13, 2011
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Equality for the Intern Generation
By Dónal Kearney in EqualityPeople born within the past thirty years have most likely been told, at least since studying for their GCSEs, that ‘work experience’ is a key factor in their career prospects. Lately, the importance of this extra-curricular activity has grown to an incredible extent as job opportunities diminish and graduates spill into job centres across the UK. For [...]
October 2, 2011
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Not Rights for Gays; Rights for All!
By Dónal Kearney in EqualityNorthern Ireland is a particularly intolerant place. As a by-product of decades of violence and a lack of representative government, concepts such as equality and civil liberty have been bumped to the bottom of the official agenda. Only within the last ten years or so have things slowly progressed – and only very slowly at [...]
April 5, 2011
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Is Ladies’ Night illegal? Nightclub entry policy and the Equality Act
By Leon Glenister in EqualityMany nightclubs are renowned for their door policy. Door policies can lead to pride (if you meet the standard), worry (will I get in?), or contempt (when you realise you are wearing trainers and are, therefore, deemed the kind of riff-raff the club is trying to steer clear of). It occurred to me today, though, [...]
March 28, 2011
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I drive therefore I am: should insurance premiums differ due to gender?
By Leon Glenister and Yaaser Vanderman in EqualityThe start of this month saw the European Court of Justice rule car insurers cannot, from the end of this year, charge different premiums on the basis of gender (Association belge des Consommateurs Test-Achats ASBL v Conseil des ministres). Since the decision there has been widespread discussion of its merits, with many people against it. [...]
March 17, 2011
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Patmalniece and Lord Walker’s Dissent: does he have a point?
By Yaaser Vanderman in EqualityThe Supreme Court has just delivered judgment in the case of Patmalniece (FC) v SoS for Work and Pensions. Mrs Patmalniece, a 72-year-old Latvian, came to court claiming that she was entitled to UK State Pension Credit even though she had never worked in the UK and did not even have the right to reside [...]
