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Latest newsWelcoming the Equality BillApril 12th 2010 Employment specialists at Kirby Simcox Solicitors are welcoming the new Equality Bill, which contrary to expectations has made it through before the dissolution of Parliament and was passed by both houses on 7 April 2010. The Bill will shortly receive Royal Assent and is expected to come into force in October 2010.
The new Equality Act consolidates the many pieces of discrimination legislation passed over the last 4 decades into one single Act of Parliament. A person’s age, sex, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or the fact that they have undergone gender reassignment are now defined as ‘protected characteristics’. To treat someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic will be regarded as unlawful discrimination.
Following the news that the Bill had been passed, James Bell, an Employment Solicitor at Kirby Simcox Solicitors said “Discrimination Law has been developing on a piecemeal basis for the last 40 years, so to have one piece of legislation dealing with all types of discrimination and one definition of discrimination is to be broadly welcomed. It’s fair to say that what would amount to discrimination now will probably still amount to discrimination in October. However, there are some small but potentially important differences in the new legislation and the effects remain to be seen.”
“For example under the new legislation a person is discriminated against on the grounds of their disability if he or she is treated less favourably because of their disability. Under the old legislation a person was discriminated against if he or she was treated less favourably for a reason related to their disability. Although it is not certain whether Tribunals will now interpret this as a change in the law or if this was Parliament’s intention, it is clear that the wording is now different. We could just be getting carried away in the detail or it could entail a real shift in what it means to discriminate against somebody.”
The new law also includes wide ranging changes which will also include caste discrimination in the definition of race discrimination and will remove the prohibition towards civil partnership ceremonies in religious premises. Interestingly the act will also require public bodies to note their obligation to reduce or eliminate socio-economic inequalities when formulating and implementing policy.
James concluded, “All employees and employers would be well advised to get to grips with this new legislation which may prove to be the most important piece of employment legislation so far this century.”
If you would like to discuss the details of this release in more detail please contact: James Bell j.bell@kirbysimcox.co.uk
New PartnerApril 8th 2010 Family law specialist Hanni Pennelegion has been made a partner at Kirby Simcox Solicitors. Hanni, who joined Kirby Simcox in 1996 as trainee solicitor, is a Collaborative Lawyer an
 d Resolution Accredited Specialist and she has become the firms’ 7th partner. Hanni is a key player in Kirby Simcox’s highly regarded Family Law Department which is acknowledged as one of the largest and most successful in Bristol.
She said, “Becoming a partner means that I have the opportunity to play a part in the continuing expansion of the Firm which has reached a crucial stage in its development. My aim is to help steer the Family Department in the Queens Square office which is one of the fastest expanding and innovative teams in the region.”
“I am passionate about family law and I am keen to promote relatively new legal initiatives such as Collaborative Law, working alongside my colleagues who are some the most experienced family lawyers in Bristol. Kirby Simcox feels like home to me and I am thrilled to be able to take on a more constructive role in what is an exciting and challenging time for family law practice.”
Budget ResponseMarch 29th 2010 Partner Bill Willcocks summarises news from the BudgetIn the last Budget of the current Parliament, Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a number of measures which may affect workers. In particular he confirmed an increase in the headline rate of the National Minimum Wage by 2.2 per cent to £5.93 from October 2010 To the surprise of many he did not detail plans to scrap the default retirement age, with the Chancellor simply saying that reforms to employers' rights to make people retire at 65 were "under consultation". In another widely forecast move he announced a two year suspension on Stamp Duty for first time buyers of properties worth £250,000 or less. In summary the rules for qualification are:
In addition he announced that from April 2011 stamp duty on houses worth more than £1 million will increase from 4 per cent to 5 per cent.
This is good news for first time buyers and should help to boost the housing market at the lower end. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch and the Chancellor's generosity will have to be paid for by someone. The additional tax on a house worth £1,000,000.01 would be £10,000 so you can expect a large number of properties to be reduced to £999,995 before next April."
This is a summary only and if you have any queries about the operation of the scheme you should contact us for further advice.
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