15. Adjustments to working hours and work organisation

If an employer refuses someone’s request to go part-time, this can amount to sex discrimination. For example, in Shaw v CCL Limited [2008] IRLR 284, an employer’s outright refusal to consider an employee’s request to work part-time following her maternity leave was found to be an act of direct and indirect sex discrimination, and a fundamental breach of the employment contract (duty of trust and confidence), entitling Shaw to resign and claim constructive dismissal. The case also shows that an employer can engage in sex discrimination even if they follow the statutory flexible working procedure - see LRD’s annual employment law guide Law at Work (www.lrdpublications.org.uk/lawatwork).