Whether post-termination acts can be the subject of complaints under the
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Race Relations Act 1976 will be
decided by the House of Lords later this year. The Court of Appeal has upheld
the EAT’s decision in Jones v 3M Healthcare that the DDA offers no such
protection. It is now set to go to the highest court along with D’Souza, a case
brought under the RRA, which is already under appeal to the Lords.
Celtec v Astley – concerning the rights under TUPE of secondees who remain
in the employment of a transferor at the time of transfer but subsequently
become employed by a transferee – has now been heard by the Court of Appeal.
Judgment is expected by the next issue.
The Advocate General has given his opinion in Lawrence v Regent Office Care,
a case referred to the ECJ by the Court of Appeal. The issue is whether, under
the equal pay provisions of Article 141 of the EU Treaty, employees of a
transferee can compare their pay with employees of the transferor who carry out
work of equal value. The Advocate General says this is not possible – the terms
and conditions are not derived from the same source – and the ECJ is expected
to rule within six months. The Court of Appeal will also decide whether TUPE
gives any additional protection in these circumstances.
