Overview

We understand the critical importance of diversity and inclusion in helping to attract and retain the best talent, enabling that talent to thrive in achieving the organisation’s wider business goals. We also know that allegations of discrimination at work can significantly impact your business, damaging workplace relationships and causing reputational and legal risk. Our aim when advising on these sensitive issues is to help you resolve the issues whilst minimising the fallout. 

Areas of focus

We help our clients:

  • Develop and maintain D&I policies and procedures and equality reporting including gender and ethnicity pay to help create a culture of inclusion whilst ensuring that those policies and procedures are legally compliant and reflect current best practice
  • Take positive action to improve organisational diversity whilst remaining on the right side of their legal obligations not to discriminate unlawfully
  • Ensure that managers, who are navigating challenges in performance and absence management, do so in accordance with organisational rules and culture, as well as working within the complex equality framework which may apply, including in relation to sex, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, race, belief and disability, mitigating both legal and reputational risk
  • Manage challenging situations between workers where protected beliefs conflict including in relation to religious beliefs, sexual orientation and transgender rights
  • Respond appropriately to concerns raised by workers, investigating them with necessary confidentiality and managing both reputational and legal risk
  • Take any necessary remedial action, and if required, respond effectively to legal claims and take the right decisions to protect the workforce, the organisation’s reputation and its wider business objectives.
Experience

Due to the sensitive nature of our work in this area, the examples below have been anonymised.

Advising major retailer on its obligations to non-binary staff members working in clothing departments.

Defending a global manufacturing and defence company in a multi-day claim sex, disability discrimination and unfair dismissal hearing.

Advising global services provider on an important age discrimination claim relating to enhanced redundancy schemes.

Acting for a further education establishment in a disability discrimination county court claim brought by a student, which was successfully resolved via a settlement.

Advising a train operating company on its Equality Act obligations to passengers.

Advising a transport company in a dispute relating to the alleged dead naming of a trans-person, which was successfully resolved by judicial mediation.

Advising an international flower grower and distributor on UK rules relating to positive action and the extent to which it is permitted under UK law.

Undertaking privileged and open investigations as external and impartial experts into complaints raised by workers and producing outcome reports/recommendations for actions.

Advising a public sector body on the successful implementation of a new pension, taking into account the differing needs of its diverse workforce.

Assisting a non-departmental public body to carry out impact assessments of its policies.

Meet the team
Luke Bowery

Luke Bowery Partner

  • Employment
  • Restructuring and Redundancy
  • Equality, Diversity and Discrimination
Headshot of Adrian Martin

Adrian Martin Partner

  • Head of Employment
  • TUPE: Business Transfers and Outsourcing
  • Restructuring and Redundancy
Headshot of Chris Seaton

Chris Seaton Senior Partner

  • Senior Partner
  • Employment
  • Partnerships
Headshot of Katie Russell

Katie Russell Partner

  • Employment
  • Financial Services
  • Sport

What others say...

They are an extremely personable team. They enable us to feel secure.

Legal 500 2024

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