Tag: Nadia Motraghi

Pitcher v Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC | Leave a Comment on Pitcher v Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford

EAT: Eady J, Mr D G Smith, Dr G Smith MBE EA-2019-000638-RN, EA-2020-000128-RN, 27 September 2021

Guest blog by Ben Mitchell 11 KBW

In 1933 Erwin Schrödinger took up an academic post at the University of Oxford. This was two years before he created his eponymous thought-experiment, “Schrödinger’s Cat”. He was 48 years old. Too young, if he were teleported to today, to hit Oxford’s current Employer Justified Retirement Age (“EJRA”) of 67. However, had he had cause to consider the EJRA or, more precisely, the EAT’s substantial judgment addressing whether it constitutes age discrimination in Pitcher v University of Oxford, we may now have been able to consider the sequel thought experiment: Schrödinger’s Age Discrimination. Continue reading →

Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Mayor of London & Transport for London (Interested Party)

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC | Leave a Comment on Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v Mayor of London & Transport for London (Interested Party)

Court of Appeal: Sir Geoffrey Vos C, Singh and Simler LJJ, [2020] EWCA Civ 1046, 5 August 2020

The claimant unsuccessfully appealed against the rejection by Lewis J of its challenge to the decision to remove the exemption in the congestion charging regime which had previously applied to private hire vehicles (PHVs). The exemption remained applicable to black cabs and to the 1% of PHVs which were wheelchair accessible. The claimant argued that the removal of the exemption amounted to indirect discrimination against BAME and women PHV drivers, 94% of PHV drivers being from BAME backgrounds whereas 88% of black cab drivers were white. Continue reading →

Adiatu & Independent Workers Union of GB v HM Treasury

Posted on | by Aileen McColgan KC

Divisional Court: Bean LJ and Cavanagh J, [2020] EWHC 1554 (Admin), 15 June 2020

The claimants sought unsuccessfully to challenge the approach taken by the Chancellor to the furlough scheme, arguing in particular that the exclusion of self-employed workers from entitlement to furlough payments and the restriction of payments for non-furloughed workers who could not attend work (because they were symptomatic or self-isolating) to SSP discriminated against self-employed workers contrary to Article 14 EHCR, and indirectly discriminated against women and BAME workers contrary to EU law. They also claimed that the Chancellor had failed to pay regard to the PSED in designing the scheme. Continue reading →