Sexual Harassment Law
Course W100: eTMA 6: Explain the law of sexual harassment in the workplace. Critically evaluate the current law. This essay will first summarise the relevant law first and then analyse its effectiveness. For this second aim, the structure will be borrowed from Fuller's 'The Morality of Law' (1969). Before we can evaluate, we must first know what the law of sexual harassment in the workplace is. In broader context, discrimination is generally unlawful and sexual harassment is one such type of unlawful behaviour. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 as amended by the Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 and The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008 (SDA) sets out two types of sexual harassment in the workplace at s.4A(1). Both provide that sexual harassment in the workplace is 'unwanted conduct [...] that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment´. The first offence is defined in terms of behaviour which is discriminatory in the sense that the offender has treated the victim differently from the way they would treat a person of the opposite sex (of the victim). The second definition provides that such 'unwanted conduct' where 'of a sexual nature' is unlawful in itself (thus thwarting the defence of the offender's being
Affirmative Action on the spotlight
Affirmative Action on the spotlight Marek Janovský, The 60's and 70's American Studies Dr. Francis Raška Introduction: The main objective of this paper is to introduce the issue of affirmative action and its development in its early stages as well as to find out why is affirmative action still hotly debated. This includes a closer look at the claims of proponents and opponents of affirmative action regarding two controversial points with respect to the political steps leading to their implementation. The targeted group, as far as the recipients of the benefits of the affirmative action, is mainly Afro-Americans in education and job sphere. This paper will mainly focus on the most significant arguments both sides defend, and we will equally try to track down the origins of such reflections on the side of the American people. What is affirmative action? Affirmative action does not have an exact definition. It refers to a wide array of "narrowly tailored and highly regulated efforts used by employers and educational institutions" which are intended to remedy historical discrimination of particular minority groups and women by attempting to remove inequality of status which exists throughout the social class hierarchy, thus allowing
Employee Rights: How employment law safeguard employees and how the equal opportunities of employees are safeguarded by legislation.
How employment law safeguard employees and how the equal opportunities of employees are safeguarded by legislation. The Employment Rights Act 1996 Confirms the statutory (legal) rights of employees and covers the contract of employment, payslips, guarantee payslips, Sunday working, time off work, maternity rights, termination of employment, unfair dismissal and remedies for unfair dismissal, redundancy, lay offs and short time working, and the insolvency of an employer. The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 THE SEX DISCRIMINATION ACT makes it unlawful to discriminate: > In the arrangement made for recruitment to the job, e.g. advertising or interviews. > In the terms on which the job is offered. > In deciding who is offered the job. > In the provision of opportunities for promotion, transfer or training. > In the benefits, facilities or services an employer grants to employees. > In dismissals, redundancy or other unfavourable treatment of employees. Jobs cannot be labelled as 'for men' or 'for women' except in very specific circumstances where the person's sex is considered to be a 'genuine occupational qualification' (e.g. acting) or the work takes places entirely or mostly abroad. The Sex Discrimination Act covers two types of discrimination: > Direct discrimination - unfair treatment because of a person's sex > Indirect discrimination - setting conditions
Critically assess how effective employment law is as a means of altering social attitudes.
LABOUR LAW COURSEWORK BY ADRIAN SHUM. TITLE: Critically assess how effective employment law is as a means of altering social attitudes. To assess how effective employment law is a means of altering social attitudes I aim to thoroughly examine whether respective legislation has sufficiently enabled women to enter and progress in professional employment on an equal footing with men. Hence, has there been a lifting of the so called 'glass ceiling', which Browne defines as, "An invisible barrier of discrimination which makes it difficult for women to reach the same top level in their chosen careers as men."1 Alternatively, I aim to evaluate, does the mere avoidance of discrimination carry with it little prospect of significant overall improvement in the socio-economic position of women. Thus, is there a need in the UK for more proactive measures such as legislation permitting or even obliging positive discrimination and compulsory affirmative/positive action, to remove the inequalities that remain. Before doing as such I feel it is imperative to differentiate between and explain what positive discrimination and affirmative/positive action are. Positive discrimination is where for example an employer restricts applicants for a particular job to women or automatically appoints a woman, and the only reason for such is that women may be underrepresented in the position in
All age discrimination is unacceptable, even if it benefits an individual. Evaluate and discuss this assertion with reference to key theories on ageing.
Student ID 329897 Ageing Society and Social Policy 'All age discrimination is unacceptable, even if it benefits an individual'. Evaluate and discuss this assertion with reference to key theories on ageing. Age discrimination is said to be worse now than it was over five years ago, with over three-quarters of people believing it will not get any better. Age discrimination emanates from the term Ageism which is a form of prejudice and has created a 'stereotyped homogenous group' which depicts the elderly to be old, frail, physically and mentally inept. Age discrimination can be direct or indirect. Direct forms of discrimination would be if an individual was treated less favourably because of their age or indirectly where by older people are disadvantaged because they are disproportionately affected. In most cases of age discrimination it is the negative aspect which allows for much media coverage however positive discrimination does also occur which receives much less criticism (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3970639.stm). Gerontologists have been studying age and ageing for many years with particular emphasis placed upon the biological perspective although recent studies in particular the disengagement theory have suggested that ageing is not simply biological but fundamentally psychological and social and that age is a socially constructed ideology. Age
Employee Status - In order for Carl to be able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal against Baker-Rags Ltd he has to establish both that he is an employee of Baker-Rags and that he was unfairly dismissed.
Employment Law Michaelmas Formative Essay In order for Carl to be able to bring a claim of unfair dismissal against Baker-Rags Ltd he has to establish both that he is an employee of Baker-Rags and that he was unfairly dismissed. Carl as an employee: The legal framework: There are only two pertinent pieces of legislation that attempts to define what an employee is, and they are inadequate at giving a clear definition - the Employment Rights Act 19961 and the Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 19922 - both stating that an employee is "an individual who has entered into or works under...a contract of employment. Due to the ambiguity inherent in this statement it is prudent to look at the common law tests for an employee. Simon Deakin identifies four tests of varying importance used to ascertain whether someone is an employee: control, integration, economic reality and mutuality of obligations.3 * Control: if the employer can control what job the person is to do, and the manner in which he does it, then there is indication of an employment relationship.4 * Integration: if a person is included in a company's disciplinary/benefits system, then this is also indication that they may be an employee * Economic Reality: if an employee's taxes are taken care of by the employing company, or the person is involved in the PAYE scheme by virtue of working for the employing company
Is it fair that employers should be held liable for the negligence of their employers?
Anisimov Dmitry, A Is it fair that employers should be held liable for the negligence of their employers? When an employee commits a tort during the course of the employment, an employer might be held liable for his negligence. This is called the doctrine of vicarious liability, which generally operates in the law of torts. The issue of the employers’ liability is debating, because it is a very specific area of law as a person is liable for the torts of another without express authorization. If a master employed a negligent worker, he should pay for his wrongdoings. Firstly, this essay will give an overview of the topic, then will discuss is it fair or not, by analyzing different situations. Finally, all main points will be summarized and the answer will be given. There are several reasons why the doctrine of vicarious liability is convenient. Firstly, employers are mostly wealthier than their employees and usually are insured to protect themselves from such risks and, therefore, they are better able to pay damages. Secondly, there is a concept that employers benefit from employees and, hence, should bear losses resulted by their actions. Thirdly, employers have a chance to choose employees and if they chose a careless one, they should pay damages caused by servant’s carelessness. Lord Millett in Dubai Aluminium Co Ltd v Salaam [2003] 2 AC 366 concluded, “The master
Legal Reasoning Example - of Dacas v Brook Street Bureau (UK) Ltd2 which deals with an appeal against an employment tribunals decision to state that an employee was not actually an employee of the company
“Legal reasoning is… but an argumentation aiming to persuade and convince those whom it addresses, that such choice, decision or attitude is preferable to concurrent choices, decisions and attitudes” - Chaim Perelman Justice, Law and Argument Do you agree? Justify your answer. Yes. Kurt M. Saunders wrote “In practical argumentation, justification involves a heuristic search; that is, the arguer searches among the many available arguments to find those that will most likely persuade the audience to accept the claim.”[1] To give an example of this, consider the case of Dacas v Brook Street Bureau (UK) Ltd[2] which deals with an appeal against an employment tribunal’s decision to state that an employee was not actually an employee of the company involved so therefore had no jurisdiction to hear her complaint of unfair dismissal (Right to not be unfairly dismissed.[3]) The appellant contended that, although she was not entitled to employee status under the general terms of her engagement with her employer, the hostel at which she was placed by her employer was governed by a single engagement contract of the type discussed in a similar case, McMeechan v Secretary of State for Employment.[4] In this case it was found that the appellant was entitled to employee status on the basis of his general relationship with the agency. The employment tribunal in reaching their
Jane encountered problems pertaining to contractual work relationship issues with Total Mechanic Management Services Pty Ltd (TMMS). The Common Law Tests (Also known as case law) is used to establish the following two categories.
Based on the information provided, Jane encountered problems pertaining to contractual work relationship issues with Total Mechanic Management Services Pty Ltd (TMMS). The Common Law Tests (Also known as case law) is used to establish the following two categories. Contract of Service relates to employees who provide labour to the employers. The employers are held accountable for vicarious liability arising from any wrongdoings from an employee's action. Employees are accorded legislative protections and statutory rights, through welfare and benefits by the employers. Contract for Service relates to independent contractors who provide services to their clients, in the capacity of a business entity and is self-employed. Unlike Contract of Service, separate general commercial law are covered for independent contractors and they are held responsible for vicarious liability in the event of any kind negligence. It is a challenge to differentiate and identify the scope of Jane's employment status. However, a series of control tests shall determine that aspect. . The Control Test consists of two elements, which are the nature, and degree of control the employer has towards the employee. Federal Commissioner of Taxation v J Walter Thompson (Aust) Pty Ltd (1944) 69 CLR 227, states that the producer had exercised great details of control over how the artists must perform during
Discursive Essay Equality for Women in the Workplace: Adam Without Eve?
Christopher McGeary Discursive Essay Equality for Women in the Workplace: Adam Without Eve? The debate about women being treated as equals in the workplace has been a continuous issue for a number of years now. Women are constantly proving themselves to be an asset to the world of work, but still have to campaign and fight for equality. Could men really cope without women within the workplace? Could Adam have coped without Eve? Women are continually showing themselves to be more than capable. This can be told from the exam results received by both men and women. When the results are compared they show that women are much higher achievers than men. Since the early 1980's, the standards of achievement for all have been rising, but because of the differential rates of improvements, girls are still performing better than boys. Throughout all the subjects offered at G.C.S.E level, girls are presently gaining more A* grades in every subject with the exception of mathematics and physics although at A* level the results take a reversible change. As these results will determine the access to further or higher education for most school leavers, it is interesting to note that the number of females who receive acceptance for university is dramatically lower than that of the males. This leaves us asking the question 'why give the opportunity to a person less capable?' the answer: