AllAboutLaw Blog: The BBC is accused of gender discrimination, the move to include unaccompanied migrant children in legal aid, and more

Oct 30, 2019

Written By Tuula Petersen

This week’s edition of the AllAboutLaw Blog looks at a case brought by the presenter Samira Ahmed against the BBC on grounds of unequal pay, the possibility for unaccompanied migrant children to claim legal aid, and a judge who lost her cool during a court proceeding.

The BBC at the centre of an equal pay case

Samira Ahmed, a presenter for the BBC, has launched an equal pay case against the BBC, which is being heard at the central London employment tribunal over the course of this week.

She is accusing the BBC of paying her 85% less than her male counterpart. The allegations stem from her work for the BBC Newswatch programme, which she has been hosting since 2012. Samira earned £440 per episode. She is claiming her male equivalent was Jeremy Vine, who received as much as £3,000 per episode for the Points of View programme.

Ahmed’s case is supported by other prominent industry figures, including the poet Lemn Sissay and the presenter Naga Munchetty, as well as the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Her legal challenge comes amid the publication of new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that indicate the gender pay gap for full-time workers rose to 8.9% in the 2018 financial year, These results are remarkable considering the previous year the gender pay gap was 8.6%. The report finds that women over 40 are more likely to work in lower-paid occupations compared with younger women.

In response to these figures, Sam Smethers, the chief executive of equality charity the Fawcett Society, stated: “The pay gap represents a productivity gap and a waste of women’s skills and potential. Too many women are trapped in low-paid part-time work or locked out of non-traditional sectors while others experience pay or pregnancy discrimination”.

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“The Near absence of women silks will be no surprise to anyone who appears in the Supreme Court [...]. The persistent underrepresentation of women is likely to do with straightforward prejudice and stereotyping, and it is self-perpetuating.”

Karen Monaghan, QC, addressing gender stereotyping in the Supreme Court after research revealed eight of the 48 barristers who have most frequently addressed the Supreme Court were women.

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Firm News

Dentons has continued its expansion, hiring Purvis Ghani, a former partner of Stephenson Harwood, for its UK People, Reward and Mobility team.

Top US lawyers from Cleary Gottlieb were expelled from the partnership for breaches of duty.

Julianne Hughes Jennett has moved to Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan after having spent nearly 20 years at Hogan Lovells.

Since its change in ownership, Slater & Gordon has shut down a few of its offices, with Leeds being the most recent.

Sapna Malik, a partner at Leigh Day was awarded the human rights lawyer of the year by the Law Society, and Lucy Scott-Moncrieff, a former president of the Law Society, received a lifetime achievement awards.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has found 21% of the 400 firms assessed are failing to comply with anti-money laundering rules.

Legal aid is accessible to migrant children

After years of campaigning and a five-year legal battle, legal aid has been restored for unaccompanied migrant children. The Children’s Society launched this legal challenge when cuts were announced in 2012 to public money that helped migrant children. The cuts were the product of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Between 2013 and now, migrant children had to rely on exceptional case funding, which was distributed very sparingly. In July 2018, the government announced its plans to make legal aid available and only now has parliament voted to approve the statutory instrument necessary to make the change.

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A judge’s temper gets the better of her

Traditionally, a judge is the emblem of control and rationality. However, in the family court of Nottingham, an adoption ruling was overturned after Judge Mian was accused of “crossing the line” of acceptable judicial behaviour. The judge was reproached for shouting and storming out of the court during a hearing. In the appeal, Judge Rogers announced: “I am quite satisfied that the judge on this occasion crossed the line and that the hearing amounted to a serious procedural irregularity.”

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