Rejecting part-time work request = sex discrimination

In Kate Haslam v All Hallows RC High School the Manchester Tribunal found that Mrs Haslam returned to work after maternity leave in January last year, she had been allowed to work two days a week on a short-term basis for six months but when she asked the school's head if the part-time arrangement could be made permanent she was refused, as the head believed the quality of teaching would suffer if pupils were dealing with more than one member of staff. The head believed there was an insufficient source of part-time teachers to become involved in a job-share arrangement. The Tribunal said this was indirect sex discrimination and the School should have investigated the possibility of a job share. It appears that there was a settlement as there is no report yet of any award.
The comment section in the Manchester Evening News is quite amusing:
"What an absolute disgrace! Here we have another public sector tribunal being won by the claimant because the panel was probably being to 'politically correct'. "
Well it has got nothing to do with political correctness - it's about making sure women are not penalised for raising their kids.

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