Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Latest NewsPregnancy and maternity discriminationSex discriminationPay & benefitsDiscrimination

Female police officer wins sexism appeal over London allowance

by Jo Faragher 3 Dec 2019
by Jo Faragher 3 Dec 2019 The officer's London allowance stopped during her maternity leave, the EAT heard
The officer's London allowance stopped during her maternity leave, the EAT heard

A female police officer’s claim for sex discrimination has been upheld by the Court of Appeal after she did not receive a ‘London allowance’ during her maternity leave.

In the case of City of London Police v Geldart, Mrs Geldart claimed she was entitled to the London allowance payable to serving police officers in the City of London and Metropolitan Police forces. The standard rate is £4,338 a year.

Legal resources

Direct sex discrimination 

Police officers 

However, the allowance stopped when her maternity pay ceased during maternity leave, leading her to lodge a claim for sex discrimination. She won the case at tribunal, and her employer appealed.

The EAT said that nothing in the police regulations stopped her London allowance from being payable during maternity leave, and noted that it was also payable to officers who were suspended from duty for other reasons.

The EAT upheld that this was direct sex discrimination under section 13 of the Equality Act 2010.

She had originally brought the claim as discrimination on pregnancy and maternity grounds as well as sex.

The judge noted that Geldart did not have to prove that the force would have treated a male comparator differently (such as a male officer on long-term sickness leave), as case law (Webb v EMO Air Cargo) indicates that detriment on account of pregnancy/maternity is sex discrimination without the need for a comparator.

The judgment said: “It is common ground that the Claimant was treated as she was because she was on maternity leave”. Geldart was awarded £4,000 for injury to feelings.

Jo Faragher
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Few employees using mental health and wellbeing benefits
next post
Senior NHS staff urge frontline health workers to get flu jab

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Police Scotland pays out £948,000 to female officer...

16 May 2022

Maya Forstater: What is a woman?

10 May 2022

Robin Moira White: What is a woman?

10 May 2022

Twice as many men as women hold company...

3 May 2022

Angela Rayner: Scandal highlights inaction to prevent harassment...

27 Apr 2022

Lloyd’s of London firm fined £1m over bullying...

17 Mar 2022

Most women in UK say their employer is...

8 Mar 2022

Gender equality in finance ’30 years off’

7 Mar 2022

Women and ethnic minorities suffer impact of juggling...

7 Mar 2022

Entrepreneurs: men seen as less employable than women...

3 Mar 2022
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+