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Clean Energy Makes Up Record Share of UK Power with Coal-to-Biomass Conversions

U.K. electricity from low-carbon sources accounted for almost a quarter of the country’s generation in the fourth quarter as Drax Group Plc converted a second coal-power plant to burn wood.




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EU Raises Concern That UK, France Won't Meet Renewables Goal

The European Commission raised concern that the U.K. and France may not meet their 2020 renewable energy targets, saying the two countries should examine whether they’re doing enough to reach the goals.




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EU extends financial hand to cash-strapped Ukraine

Lending a financial hand to Ukraine is a safeguard that will ensure stability on the European continent, a European monetary official said Wednesday.




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EU proposes relief from customs duties for Ukraine

The European Parliament said Thursday it was considering a unilateral move to give Ukraine relief from customs duties.




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Cases to watch

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Sexual orientation discrimination

In the case of Smith v Ideal Shopping Direct Ltd [2013], the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered the statutory definition of harassment. Facts Mr Smith was an openly gay employee of Ideal Shopping Direct Limited. He brought a claim allegin...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Surrogacy and maternity leave

The issue of maternity rights for surrogate parents has recently caused confusion ‘’ with two Advocates General to the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) giving conflicting guidance.  Final rulings are expec...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Cases to watch

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Legislation tracker

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Religious discrimination and group disadvantage

In 2013 we had the long awaited decisions in the combined appeals brought in the cases of Eweida and others v The United Kingdom.  These comprised the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, applying the right to freedom of thought cons...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Post-employment victimisation and the effects of Jessemy and Onu

Post-employment victimisation and the effects of Jessemy and Onu. The Court of Appeal has recently held that post-employment victimisation is unlawful, overturning the previous decision in Rowstock Ltd & another v Jessemey  and providing he...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Dramatic decline in Employment Tribunal claims

Employment Tribunal statistics for the period October to December 2013 have shown a sharp decline in the number of Employment Tribunal claims brought since the fees regime was introduced last Summer. The statistics: in summaryThe latest statistics s...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Post-natal depression: are there limits to the law’s protection from detriment?

Is it necessarily unlawful for an employer to dismiss an employee for incapability if she fails to return to work following the end of maternity leave, where the reason for the absence is post-natal depression (or other pregnancy-connected illness)?...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Age discrimination and compulsory retirement

Since the removal of the default retirement age, there have been surprisingly few cases giving guidance as to when an employee might be lawfully retired.  Some employers have implemented their own ‘Employer Justified Retirement Age’...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Caste Discrimination

In the case of Tirkey v Chandok and another [2013], an Employment Tribunal considered whether that the existing definition of “race” within the Equality Act 2010 was wide enough to capture discrimination on the basis of caste. Background...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Surrogacy

In the recent cases of CD v ST and Z v A Government Department and the Board of Management of a Community School, the Court of Justice of the European Union  clarified the position regarding the protections and benefits that should be afforded ...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Discrimination based on obesity

Later this year the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) is expected to give a ruling addressing, for the first time, the extent to which EU law protects workers against discrimination on grounds of obesity.  In the meantime, one of the CJEU&rsquo...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Legislation tracker

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Equal Pay Audits: new Tribunal powers

We have been through a very significant period of change for Employment Tribunals over the past two years: with the introduction of fees, pre-claim conciliation and new Tribunal Rules, all of which are likely to reduce the number of Tribunal claims ...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Code of practice for employers: Avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working

Employers have a duty to carry out document checks on individuals before employing them.  The aim of the checks is to ensure that individuals have the legal right to work in the UK.  Correctly carrying out document checks gives employers a...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Age discrimination and retirement: Seldon – the final chapter

In the latest, and what we can now assume is the last, chapter in the long running Seldon case concerning compulsory retirement, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld the Tribunal’s decision that compulsory retirement, in this case i...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Age Discrimination – pay and pay protection

The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has recently given another decision on the subject of age discrimination and justification.  Whilst many of the previous judgments have focused on issues around retirement age, unusually the Specht case dea...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Shared parental leave: an update

On 1 December 2014 we are expecting legislation to come into force that will give effect to the new shared parental leave regime. The new regime will apply to employees in England, Scotland and Wales whose babies are due, or who will adopt a child, ...




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Uk Discrimination Law Review: Redundancy and reasonable adjustments

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (“EAT”) has recently given an interesting ruling on  redundancy selection which could open the door to more claims from disabled employees. Background <...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Legislation tracker

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Cases to watch

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Tax on discrimination compensation

In a recent case the First-tier Tribunal (Tax) confirmed that a compensation payment that was made to an employee on the termination of their employment was taxable, notwithstanding that the payment related to discrimination and injury to feelings. ...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Mental illness, culpability and gross misconduct

Mental illness, culpability and gross misconduct A recent appeal case illustrates the difficulties that can arise when dealing with instances of apparent misconduct where a mental impairment could have affected an employee’s ability to control ...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Wheelchair users and public transport

The Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim of disability discrimination brought by a wheelchair user who was unable to travel on a bus because the designated wheelchair space was already occupied by a passenger with a child in a buggy. The Court of A...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Disability, diet and diabetes

A recent ruling from the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) suggests that it will be difficult for an individual with type 2 diabetes (or some other impairment) to show that the condition, in itself, constitutes a disability if he or she can eliminate...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Mandatory gender pay reporting

By March 2016 new regulations will be in place that will require larger employers in the private and third sector to publish details of their gender pay gap ie the difference in pay between male and female employees. The new rules, which will come a...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Trivial pursuit: minor upsets and non-harassment

A recent decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal has stressed that trivial acts, even if related to a protected characteristic, will not constitute unlawful harassment. The case of Henderson v GMB is a useful reminder that the Equality Act is not...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Disability discrimination and bonus schemes

Bonus schemes operated by employers will often make eligibility dependant on matters such as attendance. A recent case illustrates how such schemes can fall foul of disability discrimination law. Background The Land Registry operated a discretionary...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Changing terms of employment: indirect age discrimination

Imposing changes to terms and conditions of employment is rarely a straightforward exercise.  As well as dealing with issues such as collective and individual consultation, the risk of unfair dismissal and breach of contract claims, and (in som...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Equality law forecast

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UK Discrimination Law Review: Indirect discrimination - analysing the nature of and reason for disadvantage

A recent judgment of the Court of Appeal suggests that in some indirect discrimination cases there should be a greater focus on the nature of and reason for the claimed disadvantage than has previously been the case. The ruling may make it harder fo...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: English (or Welsh) fluency in the public sector

In August the Government announced plans for new laws to ensure all public sector workers in public-facing roles speak fluent English (or, in Welsh authorities, English or Welsh). Further details of the proposals have now been revealed in the Immigr...




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Equality law forecast




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UK Discrimination Law Review: Discrimination by association - latest developments

For some time now it has been recognised that direct discrimination occurs not only if someone is treated less favourably because of their own protected characteristics, but also if they are treated less favourably because of somebody else’s p...




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UK Pensions Speedbrief: Age discrimination challenge to judicial pension scheme succeeds

UK Pensions Speedbrief: Age discrimination challenge to judicial pension scheme succeedsThe Employment Tribunal has handed down its



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UK Pensions Speedbrief: Public sector age discrimination appeals - latest

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that the transitional arrangements in the New Judges Pension Scheme (NJPS) constitute unlawful age discrimination.  In a related case, the EAT has also held that the Employment Tribunal (ET) f...




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UK Government scraps local government Two Tier Code

The Government has announced that it will be scrapping local government’s ‘Two Tier Code’. In a speech to the CBI last night, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that the Code would be wi...




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UK Pensions speedbrief: Pensions data loss leads to £250,000 fine

? Pension data loss leads to £250,000 fine Lax arrangements with a supplier being used to digitise pension scheme records for a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) administering authority  lea...




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UK Public Sector Pensions speedbrief: Fair Deal: the latest developments

? Fair Deal: the latest developments On 19 November 2012 HM Treasury published its response to the March 2011 consultation on the future of the Fair Deal for Staff Pensions guidance. The Fair D...




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UK Pensions Speedbrief Public Sector First detail published on employer cost cap and actuarial valuations

? ? ? ?First detail published on employer cost cap and actuarial valuati...




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UK Public Sector Pensions Speedbrief: Pensions Ombudsman rules on academy conversion

SummaryThe Deputy Pensions Ombudsman has rejected a complaint by an academy against the administering authority of its Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) fund about the funding methodology used to allocate assets to the Academy when it was initi...




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Past is Prologue: The Future of US and UK Arbitration

Much has been said and written about the UK public’s decision in June 2016 to leave the European Union and the November 2016 election of President Donald Trump. It seems obvious that these momentous events will have profound socio-economic con...




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Russian, Ukrainian Sailors Reportedly Kidnapped From Vessel in Equatorial Guinea

Western African maritime regions are prone to pirate activity, and it is expected that the number of incidents, notably those involving kidnapping for ransom, will increase in upcoming years. ......




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UK HR ebrief: Employment tribunal claims continue on a downward trend

Employment tribunal claims continue on a downward trend At the start of the year, interim figures released regarding the number of employment tribunal claims already indicated a further drop when ...




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UK HR e-briefing: Strike changes: 1 March 2017 implementation confirmed

Regulations have confirmed that changes to industrial action law introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016 (‘Act’) will be implemented on 1 March 2017. The changes include introducing: a 50% ballot threshold for voter turnout, a 40% ballot ...