New analysis by the TUC has found that the number of people who work night shifts increased by almost 10 per cent between 2011 and 2016, with women accounting for most of the increase. Although historically most night workers tended to be men working in manufacturing plants, by 2016 one in seven male employees (14 per cent) were night-workers, compared to one in 11 (9 per cent) female employees.
When considering whether an adjustment is reasonable for an employer to make in disability discrimination cases, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in South Staffordshire & Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust v Billingsley held that if even there is only a chance that the adjustment might avoid the unfavourable treatment, it is still reasonable to expect a large employer to implement it.
It is unlawful discrimination to treat someone less favourably because of something “arising in consequence of their disability” and which cannot be justified. In Buchanan v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the employer had to be able to justify the actual treatment of Mr Buchanan, not just the underlying procedure they used for implementing the treatment.