Sex discrimination cases halved
13 Jul 05
The number of Scottish workers claiming sexual discrimination in the workplace has more than halved.
A report published by the Employment Tribunal Services has revealed that the number of people living in Scotland claiming sexual discrimination at work has more than halved, from 1,192 cases to 444.
Sexual discrimination still makes up the majority of cases dealt with by employment trribunals in Scotland, but the services' annual report showed that the number of tribunals in total also fell, from 1,700 to 1,000.
Experts believe the drop in figures could be caused by a change in employment tribunal rules in the previous year.
A Unison spokeswoman welcomed the drop in cases, but warned that the Equal Opportunities Commission had recently found that nearly half of women have suffered some form of sexual discrimination because of pregnancy.