Bluntly, these latest allegations in sport underline that ‘banter’ and derogatory language and behaviour is unacceptable in society. Crucially, in the workplace environment managers must recognise their key role in combatting discrimination in all its forms.

Unfortunately, I have seen employment tribunal claims and grievances increase throughout the pandemic. Consequently, in my opinion, significant challenges remain for all businesses to effectively tackle discrimination.

New types of discrimination claims are appearing. The legal framework under the Equality Act 2010 hasn’t changed but the sub-categories are evolving as lawyers deal with new and challenging issues. For example, within disability discrimination, long-Covid will in some instances qualify as a disability. Although the legal test for assessing if an individual is disabled hasn’t changed, the types of medical conditions to be considered are evolving and in turn influence case law.

Looking ahead, I believe there will also be more sex and age discrimination claims as businesses wrestle with how best to make office, hybrid and home working practices work best for everyone. There’s an argument that employees who choose to step away from the workplace might be disadvantaged in terms of accessing the best quality work and opportunities for career progression. This could affect women with childcare responsibilities and in turn lead to sex discrimination claims against the employer.

There’s every likelihood age...

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