Our thanks to Graham for this. The end of the piece on the website of Redmans, the law firm acting on behalf of Mr Snell:

“Chris Hadrill, a specialist employment solicitor at Redmans, commented on the case: “This is the first recorded case of discrimination based upon a shared parental leave policy. Employers should check their policies regularly to ensure that they are in compliance with legal and regulatory standards, as well as to ensure that they are not discriminatory in any respect.” “

Graham writes:

“Hi Mike, I found the article interesting.

I’ve linked to Snell v Network Rail, in which an employer was found to have discriminated against a man in relation to paternity pay. On its face, the outcome is uncontroversial: sex is a protected characteristic, and men should be entitled to equal pay and equal treatment where the law provides for it.

However it does appear that Employment Tribunals are less focused on enforcing equality between the sexes, and more concerned with advancing a broader policy agenda framed around improving women’s outcomes, even where that results in less favourable treatment for men.

In that context, I wonder whether this case was able to succeed precisely because equal paternity pay is not ultimately intended to achieve equality for men, but rather to facilitate women’s career and pay progression by encouraging men to take on greater caring responsibilities.

Where a claim by a man aligns with that broader objective, it appears capable of being upheld; where it does not, I wonder whether the same principles of equality, under the EqA 2010 would be applied.

It raises the question as to whether tribunals are acting as neutral arbiters of equality under the law, or whether their approach has shifted to a form of outcome driven positive discrimination.

Regards,
Graham”

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