A Tale of Two Reports

Two recent but different reports show unhappiness in the world of law.

The World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Gender Gap Report’ shows that the UK has for the first time fallen outside the top 20 most gender-equal countries, dropping from a commendable 9^th position in 2006 to a poor 26^th position this year (www.weforum.org).  Whilst the report identifies that no country in the world has yet reached true gender equality and that once again the Northern European countries make the top 5 (in the order of Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark) the UK has now fallen behind other comparable North American and European countries including Canada, the USA, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and France. 

My view is that this has much to do with the recent employment law ‘reforms’ brought in since 2012, which make it harder for females to assert their rights - for example, statutory questionnaires, a tool to help an employee obtain earnings information, have been watered down, and to bring an equal pay claim, there is £1,200 in Employment Tribunal fees to pay to get to a hearing. 

A second, similarly depressing report has just been published by a London firm of Solicitors (see www.hjainnovation.net).  Of the firm’s 508 surveyed senior lawyers, 87% believe that ‘wealth is a more important factor in whether justice can be accessed than it used to be’, with one lawyer commenting that access to justice was now only for the ‘very poor or the very rich’.  83% of those lawyers surveyed agreed that ‘the justice system is not accessible to all members of the public’. This is no doubt due to the fact that legal aid is only available for those who are classed as ‘very poor’ and the recent high above inflation increases in fees payable to have a claim brought to Court - I believe the sizeable ‘squeezed middle’ will often find it impossible to obtain access to justice and will now often have to represent themselves, if they are in a position to take proceedings at all. 

Both disturbing reports seem to give a true and accurate snapshot of the real level of lack of access to justice for ordinary people in 2014/2015.  

David Sorensen - Partner

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