[IER] Overtime and discrimination - female workers feeling the brunt

[Sarah Glenister]

                            News brief - 16/08/21                                                                           View this email in your browser
                        


                            Overtime and discrimination - female workers feeling the brunt



        

                            It has been reported since the very early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic that female workers were at the sharp end of the crisis. Women are more likely to be key workers, more likely to be impacted by reduced access to childcare and school closures, and targeted for redundancy if they were pregnant or taking maternity leave.
This week, new evidence has emerged of yet more ways female workers have been particularly hard hit both during the pandemic and before.
Research from think tank, Autonomy, found that unpaid overtime has reached "epidemic" proportions with the rise in work from home arrangements. Women, it said, were 43% more likely to be putting in more hours during the pandemic and were therefore more likely to experience the resulting stress and the erosion of their personal lives.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of women have sought justice for a long-standing form of discrimination - that which is based on the experience of the menopause at work.
                        
                                        
                                    

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                    Home working causing “epidemic of hidden overtime”Women are particularly likely to be responding to work-related communications during their off hours.Read full story



                    Discrimination claims based on menopause have more than tripled since 2018The response of tribunals has so far been inconsistent but experts expect case numbers to keep rising.Read full storyFeatured publication


            

            

        Our Labour Law Highlights publication takes a stroll through the main judicial and statutory highlights of the previous year. In this case, the year under review will be for ever remembered as the Covid year.
The public health crisis and the ensuing lockdowns go someway to explaining the relative brevity of this year’s report: politicians were focused on the pandemic and keeping the economy turning, while the number of court cases was substantially reduced as courts – like many workplaces – adjusted to working on-line.
Covid-19 also helped expose some of the fundamental weaknesses in the UK’s employment law and our authors turn their legal eyes to a range of these issues including industrial action, redundancy, TUPE, whistleblowing and equalities.
Of particular interest this year is the question of the employment status of workers in the gig economy. Issues reflected upon include the exclusion of gig workers from the job retention scheme (furlough), whether gig workers should be covered by health and safety protections and, in a case that went all the way up to the Supreme Court, how the definition of ‘worker’ should be determined, the outcome of which decides who is entitled to the minimum wage, paid holidays and rest breaks.Read moreIER and Covid-19Due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease and the need to keep our staff, supporters and speakers safe, IER is holding all events online until further notice.IER staff will continue to work, but remotely from home. We will answer emails, produce publications and circulate our weekly News Briefs and other on-line information. However, phone calls to the office or mail sent by post will not receive immediate attention.We apologise for any inconvenience caused and wish you all best wishes during this difficult time.
                                                                                
                                                                                
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