What is redundancy

16 January 2015: Redundancy arises when an employer’s business closes down, or stops in the place where the employee was employed. Alternatively it arises when there is a reduction in the need for the business for that particular kind of … Continue reading

Obesity and Disability

23 December 2014: Reasonable Adjustments for Santa? Santa has been getting rather portly in recent years and his sleigh is no longer comfortable for him to ride in.   Santa has mixed feelings about the European Court of Justice decision … Continue reading

Posted in law

Sickness Absence and Reasonable Adjustments

24 October 2014: Should an employer disregard disability-related absence as a ‘reasonable adjustment’ under the Equality Act?   This was considered by the EAT in General Dynamics Information Technology Ltd v Carranza UKEAT/0107/14. Mr Carranza got a final written warning … Continue reading

Posted in law

Unfair dismissal and international employees

12 September 2014: Can international employees claim unfair dismissal in the UK?   Employees in the UK and Europe generally enjoy stronger employment rights than workers in the USA. This might make it attractive for employees of multinationals to claim … Continue reading

Posted in law

Employers Giving References

5 September 2014: The Perils of Giving References: The recent case of Playboy Club London Ltd  v Banca Nazionale del Lavaro [2014] is a warning to all employers whose staff may give references without approval.   It is well established (in … Continue reading

Sick leave or throwing a sickie?

11 July 2014: Throwing a Sickie: Occasional low level sickness absence can be a significant problem for employers. While sickness absence is often genuine, staff also sometimes throw a ‘sickie.’   The BBC reports this week a survey by PwC aiming … Continue reading