What’s the case
about?
Mrs Gill and Ms Coote went into El Vino’s wine bar on
Fleet Street in London. They walked up
to the bar and ordered two glasses of wine.
They were informed that women were not allowed to stand and drink at the
bar, but that they were welcome to take a table and be served there. They brought a claim against the management
of El Vino, arguing that their treatment was unlawful under the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
Where is it on the
map?
At point L.
Who won?
Mrs Gill and Ms Coote won, eventually. The trial judge found in favour of El Vino
but on appeal, the court gave judgment for the women.
What’s the
principle of law?
S.29 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made it unlawful for a
person to discriminate against women when providing goods, facilities or
services to the public. El Vino had
argued that their policy of not allowing women at the bar was an act of
chivalry and respect rather than discrimination. But the appeal judges found that regardless
of its motivation, the policy deprived women of the opportunity to enjoy the bar
to the same extent as male customers and it was thus unlawful.
What’s it like
today?
S.29 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 has been replaced by
the Equality Act 2010, but this case is still a good example of direct
discrimination and the policy would still be unlawful today.
The Guardian marked the 30th anniversary of Gill v El Vino with a post on their ‘from
the archive’ blog. You can read it here.
El Vino is still going strong.
And they now serve ladies at the bar –
cheers!
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