Author: Nikki Petken

In this stay alert we will briefly look at when an employer can and cannot enforce a dress code, potential liabilities and some practical points.

“You can’t wear that” - When can an employer dictate what an employee can wear during the course of their work?

The recent reported case of a salon found to have indirectly discriminated against a Muslim hairdresser, highlights the fine line employers have to walk. In the job interview the hairdresser was told that she could not wear her headscarf, as it was an absolute requirement that she have her hair on show. She was refused the job after she insisted on wearing her head scarf, as this was essential to her beliefs. (more…)

Author Andrew Nellist

Since 2005 the divorce rate in England and Wales has fallen; in 2007 there were only 11.9 divorces for every 1000 married people; this was the lowest rate of divorce since 1981.

There has been much speculation as to the reason for the fall. A recent article in The Times suggested that one of the principle reasons for the drop in the divorce rate was that marriage is no longer a social duty and that those that get married really mean it. Couples tend to live together first so understand each others faults before they marry, and have the maturity to work through any problems they may encounter.

Will the economic uncertainty and in particular the fall in house prices cause the divorce rate to fall further? Are people simply too strapped for cash to divorce? (more…)

 
Author: Andrew Nellist

Several papers have recently reported a case in which the wife petitioned for divorce on the basis of her husband’s unreasonable behaviour after discovering that his male character in the Internet Virtual World “Second Life” was having sex with a female character controlled by a real life woman. The wife had apparently even gone to the length of hiring an on-line private detective within “Second Life” to investigate the behaviour of the virtual character controlled by her husband. (more…)

Author: Nikki Petken

A landmark decision by the European Court of Justice has potentially extended the protection of discrimination legislation to persons that are not disabled themselves, but suffer discrimination or harassment owing to their association with a disabled person.

The decision of Coleman v Attridge Law focused only on discrimination and harassment on the grounds of disability. However, it was indicated that this decision may not be restricted to disability, but will also apply to other grounds of discrimination such as sexual orientation, age and religion or belief. (more…)

In this article Marilyn Bell and Keith Docking look at the recent high profile of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills divorce and ask what lessons can be learnt from this case.

One of the major issues of contention in the Mills/McCartney divorce was Paul McCartney’s wealth. As has been well documented. Heather Mills claimed he was worth £800 million and the Judge found he was worth “only” £400 million. The Judge was invited to look at Heather’s claim purely in terms of needs generously applied.

This concept of need in cases involving the super rich does cause some consternation to the average person in the street. For example, Heather sought £499,000 per annum for holidays, but was “only” allowed £150,000 by the Judge. These matters were of course all relative when Paul’s expenditure set out before the court exceeded £4 million a year. The Judge, therefore, when coming to his figure of £16.5 million plus various properties which gave a total of £24.3 million, had assessed what lump sum Heather required to meet her financial needs in the future.

The other main headline maker in relation to this case was Heather’s decision to dispense with her legal team and represent herself.

(more…)

Author: Clare MacKay

Research commissioned by the Advertising Standards Authority (“the ASA”) reveals that there is a confusion and lack of understanding amongst consumers as to what ethical and environmental claims made about a product really mean. It is perhaps not surprisingly then that there has been a large increase in the number of complaints received by the ASA about environmental claims made in advertising campaigns – up from 117 complaints about 85 ads in 2006 to 561 complaints about 410 ads in 2007. With consumers tightening their belts as the credit crunch continues to bite and consumer spending on the decline, many consumers are dropping green products for more economic alternatives. A consumer who therefore bucks this trend and makes a purchase based on green claims is likely to be all the more dissatisfied if those green claims turn out to be unfounded or exaggerated. (more…)