We have just finished the last of our Annual Reviews of Employment law in Northern Ireland. As well as many possible changes to employment rights announced by the coalition last week, 2012 looks like it will throw up some interesting cases. Mark McAllister from the Labour Relations Agency spoke at our annual reviews and recommended these cases as possibly the main ones to watch out for in the near future:

In terms of the top 5 cases to watch out for in the coming months:

1. The case of United States of America v Nolan (ECJ) considers whether the employer's obligation to consult about collective redundancies arises (i) when the employer is proposing, but has not yet made, a strategic business or operational decision that will foreseeably or inevitably lead to collective redundancies; or (ii) only when that decision has actually been made and he is then proposing consequential redundancies? This issue is the age old problem of timing – contemplating or proposing which has hounded the UK ‘s transposition of the Directive since 1999. EWCA decision:
http://bit.ly/amFSVv

2. The case of O’Brien v Ministry of Justice in which the Supreme Court has made a reference to the ECJ on, among other things, the meaning of worker in the Part-Time Workers Framework Directive. The scope of definitions and coverage of part-timers and their protection is something that has been gathering momentum for many years. UKSC decision:
http://bit.ly/tYQxhl

3. The cases of Seldon v Clarkson Wright and Jakes and Anor (as well as Homer v Chief Constable West Yorkshire Police). The Supreme has directed that the cases be heard together. Homer considers whether a requirement of holding a law degree for a senior position was age discriminatory. Seldon considers whether the forced retirement of a partner in a law firm at age 65 was justified, and whether an employer seeking to justify direct age discrimination needs to pursue a social policy objective. Bodies such as the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland wait with bated breath for the “Seldon decision” in January 2012. EWCA decision:
http://bit.ly/arlKfb

4. The Court of Session in Scotland is about to hear the case of Kulikoaskas v MacDuff Shellfish which considers whether an employee allegedly dismissed because of his partner's pregnancy can bring an associative pregnancy discrimination claim. Since the “Colemen” decision we have been waiting to see if the expanded “associated protection” extends to other jurisdictions and this case should provide a answer a clearer direction on interpolating by UK courts. EAT decision:
http://bit.ly/vvm3LT

5. The European Court of Human Rights is due to hear the combined cases of Eweida v UK and Chaplin v Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust in order to consider whether UK law breaches the European Convention on Human Rights given its failure to entitle the claimants to wear a cross at work. They argue that this fails to adequately to protect their right to manifest their religion, contrary to Art 9 of the Convention which protects religious freedom, both taken alone and in conjunction with Art 14 which prohibits religious discrimination. This “media favourite” case has been billed as “the battle of rights” as Uniform v Religious icon and Gay v Christian, once again take centre stage. EHRC submissions:
http://bit.ly/ncsNyg

We would like to thank Mark McAllister, Employment Relations Manager at the LRA, for the main content of this email.

Legal-Island will keep you up to date with these and other essential case law developments. Past case law reviews are accessible to our subscribers in the email vault on our website:
http://bit.ly/uMAmsA