Employment tribunal rejects sex discrimination appeal

An employment tribunal has this week (April 6th) rejected an appeal by Eversheds over the decision that the firm had sexually discriminated against a former associate.

The company's appeal on liability at the Employment Appeal Tribunal was rejected, with the decision made in March last year upheld.

John de Berlin, who was once an associate at the company's Leeds office, originally brought his case for employment rights to court after he said that a female colleague had been given preferential treatment to him in a consultation about redundancy. This was despite her being on maternity leave at the time of the meeting.

The original Leeds Employment Tribunal awarded him £12,000.

A spokesperson for Eversheds said: "The firm stands by the decisions it took with respect to the treatment of women on maternity leave, which it believes is consistent with its obligations under EU and UK law."

In another employment case, this year Maggie Pattinson, who formerly worked for the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, was awarded £35,000 after she took her unfair dismissal claim to a tribunal.

Published by Hannah Carr