Graeme Lockwood

The Equality Act 2010 and mental health

One aim of the Equality Act 2010 is to protect people with disabilities and prevent disability discrimination. We review the key provisions of the Act relevant to disability discrimination with respect to mental illness.

An overview of the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal decisions in sexual harassment cases 1995‐2005

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present research conducted with legal cases of sexual harassment (SH) in Great Britain over the past ten years. The paper contributes to the equal opportunities literature since it offers a rare interpretation of longitudinal case data with important implications for law, policy, social science and, indeed, for the management of equal opportunities within organizations. The paper approaches SH both as an evolving legal issue and as a type of organizational conflict, with particular power influences and effects.Design/methodology/approach – The population of individual case records with a SH component was accessed via the BALII database for the period 1995‐2005. These case records were content‐analyzed using a framework of variables developed for the study. Variables of interest initially were identified from a review of the social science, law and policy‐related literaturesFindings – The vast majority (96 per cent) of workers bringing appeals of SH were female. Th...

Mental health disability discrimination Law, policy and practice

This article analyses data collected on mental health discrimination (MHD) litigation in Britain between 2005 and 2012. The data on MHD litigation are presented by an examination of the following: population of cases reaching the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the additional (to MHD) claims brought in the cases, findings relating to the characteristics of the claimant and respondent and the workplace and organizational context from which the legal action arises, the forms of the MHD being claimed and key legal issues arising from the analysis of case law. Results suggest that a substantial gap between law, policy and practice remains and that organizations are not being proactive enough in preventing and tackling the issue of MHD arising in the workplace.

A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Sexual Harassment Claims 1995-2005

This article explores the organisational and legal context in which parties involved in claims relating to sexual harassment operate, and presents an analysis of the population of sexual harassment cases heard by Employment Tribunals between 1995 and 2005.

An epitaph to CROTUM and CPAUIA

This commemtary reviews the operation of the trade union commissioners abolished by the Employment Relations Act 1999, and the initiative to have new powers to the Certification Officer concerning the regulation of internal union affairs.

A legal analysis of sexual harassment employment tribunal cases 1995‐2005

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an analysis of court judgments on sexual harassment over the last ten years.Design/methodology/approach – This research has anaylsed a sample of 399 sexual harassment cases.Findings – The analysis provides information on factors that influence the courts’ decision‐making process.Research limitations/implications – Further investigation could be made by interviewing witnesses, claimants, respondents and tribunal members.Practical implications – The article provides pertinent learning outcomes for claimants and employers.Originality/value – The analysis allows us to develop a profile of successful SH claims over the period studied.

Trade union governance: The development of British conservative thought

This article critically analyses the development of the thought underpinning Conservative policy towards trade unions and, in particular towards the regulation of trade union internal affairs. It goes on to suggest that Conservative policies were influenced by a broad New Right ideology, ‘academic’ thinking on the internal structures of trade unions and debates within the Conservative Party, especially after Mrs Thatchers election. More specifically, the paper explores the degree to which neo liberal ideology and ‘academic’ thinking on trade union accountability had an influence on ‘practical’ policies and the use politicians made of ideas in policy. The paper also highlights the key role played by Sir Keith Joseph in the development of Conservative Party policy on trade unions during the period 1975–1979.

Trade Unions, Political Funds Ballots and Party Political Funding

Abstract The Trade Union Act 1984 compels trade unions with political funds to hold a ‘review ballot’ every 10 years if they wish to retain them. Unions argue that without a political fund they could not finance any of their political activities or campaigns. This would particularly affect the trade union movements long association with the Labour Party, to which 35 unions currently affiliate. Between February 1993 and November 2000 all 40 unions with a political fund are obliged to have held a review ballot. By December 1997, 34 had done so. Using interview and questionnaire data, this article compares the results of the 1993/7 political funds review ballots with the results of the political funds ballots field in 1985/6. It also compares the 1993/7 trade union campaign to retain political funds with that mounted in 1985/6 and assesses what, if anything, trade unions learnt and/or reapplied from the earlier campaign. The article goes on to demonstrate that the results of the 1993/7 review ballots and th...

An assessment of employer liability for workplace stress

Purpose This study aims to examine workplace stress in a random sample of litigated cases heard in UK courts. The majority of claims related to clinical depression. The alleged causes of workplace stress most commonly cited in the litigation included excessive workload, followed by poor management practices; organisational, economic or technical changes; aggressive management style; and bullying by co-workers. Design/methodology/approach The term claimant is used to refer to the worker who made the original complaint of workplace stress, and the term defendant refers to the employing organisation defending the claim. In an attempt to establish the number and type of claims brought forward, the population of individual case records relating to workplace stress was accessed electronically from a variety of legal databases. Findings The presence of effective workplace stress management policies were important interventions that played a particularly significant role in avoiding legal action and reducing employees’ detrimental experiences. A significant finding was that 94 per cent of the cases were found in favour of the employer as the defendant, and the implications of this for managerial practice are suggested. This analysis of 75 cases between 1992-2014 will shed valuable light on the nature of workplace stress claims heard in the courts and the likelihood of the claimant employee’s success in such cases. Research limitations/implications Further work could be undertaken to examine the extent to which the legal framework could be regarded as encouraging a compensation culture and placing excessive burdens on employing organisations. This paper assesses the scope of liability for workplace stress through an analysis of some of the legal claims made and evaluates whether these sorts of fears are justified. Practical implications These court cases are real scenarios in which various organisations faced civil action arising from workplace stress claims. The main contribution that this research makes to the existing body of literature on the subject is to discern the different contexts that led to litigation in these cases. Social implications Researchers have reported on the negative consequences associated with workplace stress, both for individuals and organisations (Cooper and Marshall, 1976). It has been recognised that employers have a duty, which is in many cases enforceable by law, to ensure that employees do not become ill (Michie, 2002). The aim of this paper is to analyse the legal record on litigation since 1992 and discuss how the findings inform the wider literature. Originality/value Workplace stress claims have been described as the “next growth area” in claims for psychiatric illness (Mullany and Handford, 1997; Elvin, 2008; Horsey and Rackley, 2009). Hugh Collins stated “owing to the limitations of the statutory compensatory scheme in the UK […] private law has been used to expand the range of protection against illness […] in the workplace” (Collins, 2003). To understand how court decisions are changing, the development of this body of law needs to be traced (Ivancevich et al., 1985).

The widening of vicarious liability: implications for employers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the concept of vicarious liability has developed in recent years.Design/methodology/approach – This work analyses case law decisions pertaining to vicarious liability.Findings – The paper examines how court decisions have acted to widen considerably the application of vicarious liability in a business context.Research limitations/implications – Further research could usefully speculate on the direction the law might take in the future.Practical implications – The paper reveals how vicarious liability applies in a business context and provides some pertinent learning outcomes for employers from case law development.Originality/value – The analysis presented in this paper explains how an important legal concept applies in a contemporary business context.