How many times have you heard “are you all ready for Christmas yet?”?!
Well, as we wind down to the end of the year and get the last-minute Christmas shopping done, we have a quick blog for you, don’t worry we’ll keep it short as we know how hectic this time of year is! (Don’t even ask me about my weekend rushing around with Christmas parties and taking kids to football events and wrapping and deep cleaning. I need another weekend immediately!) I promise that in the new year I will share more with you about the world of Alex MacAskill, but right now it’s all we can do to keep on top of our own various festive commitments – so watch this space on that one!
We won’t ever slack at Precept and want to bring you one last update to round off the year and, as we have our Gender Identity session coming up in the new year, we thought we’d share with you the details of a recent Tribunal case on this very topic (how timely! Thank you, Tribunal!)
In a controversial decision, a Tribunal has dismissed a claim regarding a trans worker who was trying to claim discrimination for the employer using the wrong name and preferred pronouns. However, the decision isn’t quite as brazen as that header would indicate. Here, the employee had created confusion themselves around what name and pronouns should be used and had consistently stated that they did not mind which name was used. In fact, the employee had created so much confusion that the claim could not be upheld.
In this case, the employer was praised by the Employment Judge for having credible witnesses and evidence, and it is worth noting that the employer had asked about preferred pronouns and the correct name to use on numerous occasions. This should absolutely not be under-estimated and in our view created a very employer friendly environment in that particular Tribunal court room – put simply, they had done pretty much everything they could have done, and it wasn’t their fault they got it wrong.
This case highlights a few key issues. In relation to gender identity, it highlights the importance of being open and providing opportunities for all employees to be vocal about their preferences, meaning that should any issues arise, there is a solid paper trail of evidence of the employer being accommodating and cooperative, rather than stubborn and refusing to engage with the matter of gender identity. Of course (and without giving too much away before our session in January) having up to date and properly drafted policies in place will help here, and training management on applying them. Find out more on what you should and shouldn’t be doing in our session on Wednesday 10 January 2024 CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.
This case also highlights the importance of preparation in Tribunal litigation (yes, Emma told me to say this!) At Precept, we run a large number of Employment Tribunal defences for employers – in fact we had 7 Preliminary Hearings this month alone! We have a real specialism in this and preparing the case and your witnesses is a huge part of that. This case shows the importance of this in order to position your case in the very best way possible. If you are unfortunate enough to have a claim brought against you – give us a call for the very best employment tribunal defence representation.
If this is an area you would like more information on then I’m not going to give away any more details here. Oh no, we have a training session in the new year on this topic and you’ll have to join us for that to get more top tips! You can book on for free here CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.
From all of us at Precept we want to wish you a Merry Christmas however you will be celebrating, and a happy new year.
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