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Posted on March 27, 2015

Redundancy, unfair dismissal awards to increase

Posted in: employment

27 March 2015:   Changes from the 6th April 2015: The following changes will take effect from the 6th April 2015:   The National Minimum Wage will be: £6.50 ph for a worker who is aged 21 years or over (up from … Continue reading

20 March 2015: Diet-Controlled Type 2 Diabetes was not a Disability: Type 2 diabetes is an increasingly common medical problem, and many would assume that it amounts to a disability under the Equality Act 2010.   Under the Act, ‘disability’ means … Continue reading

Posted on March 06, 2015

Dress Down Friday

Posted in: employment

Friday 6 March 2015: Many employers have a dress code in order to maintain their corporate image, professional standards or health and safety / job related requirements.   There is no limit within reason to the restrictions an employer can … Continue reading

Posted on February 20, 2015

Disciplinary Investigations

Posted in: disciplinary

20 February 2015: How much investigation is appropriate in disciplinary proceedings?   In Shrestha v Genesis Housing Association Ltd, the Court of Appeal held that an employee was fairly dismissed after an investigation revealed that he had claimed mileage in … Continue reading

13 February 2015:         The general position is that it takes the agreement of both parties (express or implied) to change a contractual term in an employment contract.   In Norman and others v National Audit Office … Continue reading

Posted on February 09, 2015

Gross Misconduct Dismissals

Posted in: disciplinary

9 February 2015: Gross Misconduct Employers can dismiss summarily for gross misconduct, but have to carry out a reasonable investigation and a fair procedure before doing so.   In the case Brito-Bapapulle v Ealing Hospital NHS Trust (Court of Appeal), … Continue reading

Posted on January 30, 2015

Dismissal Appeals. Informing the Employee

Posted in: employment

30 January 2015: Employers who dismiss an employee should give them the right to appeal that decision. Failure to do so may give rise to an unfair dismissal claim. What if the employer upholds the decision but fails to inform … Continue reading

Posted on January 19, 2015

When is redundancy not redundancy

Posted in: employment

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

Posted on January 19, 2015

What is redundancy

Posted in: employment

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

Posted on January 09, 2015

2015. Changes to Employment law in the year ahead

Posted in: employment

9 January 2015: With an election looming in May 2015, it is more difficult than normal to predict what changes there may be to employment law in the year ahead.  The main changes that are currently on the cards are … Continue reading

12 December 2014: Disability Discrimination – What’s in a Name? There are some names which seem strangely apt, such as that Mark Avery of the RSPB, Belgian footballer Mark De Man, lawmaker Lord Judge and gardener Bob Flowerdew (see BBC article). … Continue reading

Posted on November 28, 2014

Dismissal, stress, depression and personal injury

Posted in: employment

28 November 2014: Stress and a Person of Ordinary Robustness: Can suspension trigger a personal injury claim for depression caused as a result?   Generally no, said the Court of Appeal in Yapp v Foreign and Commonwealth Office 2014 which … Continue reading

Posted on November 21, 2014

Redundancy and Maternity Leave

Posted in: employment

21 November 2014: In the recent EAT case of Sefton Borough Council v Wainwright, Mrs Wainwright was put at risk of redundancy during her maternity leave, but not considered for alternative vacancies until several months later.   Regulation 10 of … Continue reading

Posted on November 14, 2014

Do union activities count as ‘working time’

Posted in: employment

14 November 2014: Even though an employer may not ‘recognise’ a union formally, there may still be union representatives within the business who have union work to attend to.   In Edwards and another v Encirc Ltd (ET/2412489/13) a health … Continue reading

Posted on November 04, 2014

Holiday Pay must include overtime

Posted in: employment

4 November 2014: Does holiday pay include overtime? When calculating the statutory right to paid holiday, most employers make the calculation based on basic pay only, and not overtime.  Should they?   The Employment Appeal Tribunal has just issued its answer … Continue reading

31 October 2014: Consultants providing personal services via limited companies Many consultants set up limited companies to provide services, in order to reduce their tax exposure.   In Halawi v WDFG 2014 reported this week, the Court of Appeal held that … Continue reading

Posted on October 17, 2014

Tax on Settlement Agreements

Posted in: employment

17 October 2014: It’s commonly known that a non-contractual payment of up to £30,000 can be made on termination under section 401-4 Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (‘ITEPA’). Contractual payments, and payments in lieu of holiday etc have … Continue reading

10 October 2014: Are ‘Self Employed’ consultants really employees? Many organisations engage self-employed consultants to carry out work for them, sometimes over a period of years.   Problems can arise when business wants to dispense with their services, as whatever the … Continue reading

Posted on September 19, 2014

Shared Parent Leave from April 2015

Posted in: employment

19 September 2014: Shared Parental Leave from the 5th April 2015: Currently fathers can take Additional Paternity Leave and Pay – for between 2 and 26 weeks at £138.18 pw, to start 20 weeks after the birth or adoption.   Parents of babies … Continue reading

Posted on September 05, 2014

Employers Giving References

Posted in: employment

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

1 August 2014: Do employers own their staff’s linked in contacts?   We wrote in July 2013 about Confidentiality, Restrictive Covenants and Linkedin profiles. LinkedIn is becoming a particularly important tool in some jobs, and the ownership of an employee’s … Continue reading

25 July 2014: Can an employer convert a disciplinary warning to dismissal on appeal? Not unless the policy expressly says so, was the answer in the Court of Appeal case of McMillan v Airedale NHS Foundation Trust.   A contractual … Continue reading

Posted on July 18, 2014

Is Obesity a Disability?

Posted in: disability discrimination

18 July 2014: The short answer is that severe obesity is likely to be a disability under the Equality Act 2010. In Kaltoft v Municipality of Billund the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has given the opinion … Continue reading

Posted on July 11, 2014

Sick leave or throwing a sickie?

Posted in: employment

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

20 June 2014: What do you do if an employee leaves without working their contractual notice? In Li v First Marine Solutions this month, the EAT held that a clause deducting a month’s pay  for Ms Li’s failure to work … Continue reading

13 June 2014: The short answer, is no, following the Court of Appeal decision in  Hainsworth v Ministry of Defence.   Ms Ainsworth worked for the British Armed Forces as a civilian based in Germany. Her daughter had Down’s syndrome … Continue reading

Posted on June 06, 2014

Flexible Working and the World Cup

Posted in: ACAS

6 June 2014: World cup fever will officially grip the nation from Thursday 12th June 2014 when Brazil kicks off against Croatia at 9pm. Many fixtures appear to be outside UK normal working hours which will help avoid staff sloping off … Continue reading

Posted on May 30, 2014

Discrimination At Work

Posted in: discrimination

30 May 2014:  According to the Guardian newspaper this week, the British Social Attitudes survey shows that the percentage of people who describe themselves as prejudiced against those of other races has risen overall since 2001. People admitting to some … Continue reading

Posted on May 23, 2014

Holiday Pay Should Include Commission

Posted in: employment

23 May 2014: As widely reported in the media this week, the European Court of Justice has held in Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd that, when a worker’s pay ordinarily includes commission, her salary should not be reduced because she … Continue reading

Posted on May 16, 2014

Can compulsory retirement ages be justified?

Posted in: employment

16 May 2014: As is commonly known, it is now unlawful to require a person to retire by reason of age unless the requirement can be justified as a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate aim. Imposing retirement on air traffic … Continue reading

Posted on May 09, 2014

Accessing Employees home computers

Posted in: employment

9 May 2014. Checking Employee’s Personal Home Computers: Nowadays, it’s only too easy for employees to retain confidential work information on personal computers or data sticks. Settlement Agreements often require ex-employees to delete any such data, but that can be … Continue reading

Posted on May 02, 2014

Zero Hours Contracts

Posted in: employment

2 May 2014: As reported widely in the press this week, Ed Milliband and the Labour party plan to reform the law on zero hour contracts, under which employers are not obliged to offer a minimum number of working hours, and … Continue reading

Posted on April 29, 2014

How do I start the ACAS Early Conciliation Process

Posted in: ACAS

29 April 2014: From the 6th May 2014 Claimants will be obliged to first make an application for ACAS Early Concilation before submitting a claim in the Employment Tribunal. See our earlier bulletin via this link.   To start the … Continue reading

2014.04.25: Claims of ‘whistleblowing’ with respect to detriments suffered as a result of making a Protected Disclosure can be notoriously complicated.   Making a Protected Disclosure includes telling the employer that that that they have failed to comply with a legal … Continue reading

Posted on April 04, 2014

ACAS Early Conciliation

Posted in: employment

4 April 2014: ACAS Early Conciliation: Acas’ Early Conciliation service will be optional from 6 April and will become obligatory from the 6th May 2014 if claimants want to bring Tribunal claims. Very much in brief: Claimants will have to contact … Continue reading

28.03.2014: When do enhanced redundancy payments become binding on the employer?   In Park Cakes Ltd v Shumba in 2013, the Court of Appeal gave general guidance on when employees could rely on enhanced redundancy payments. The Court said that issues … Continue reading

21 March 2014: Right to Work in the UK: It is an offence to employ someone without having taken the proper steps to check their right to work in the UK and the checks an employer has to carry out … Continue reading

14 March 2014: From July 2013 Claimants have been obliged to pay a fee in the majority of cases of £250 to submit a claim in the Employment Tribunal and £950 before a full hearing.   Although Claimants can seek … Continue reading

Posted on March 10, 2014

Statutory Discrimination Questionnaires

Posted in: discrimination

7 March 2014: Statutory Discrimination Questionnaires on their way out: For many years, employees have been able to issue statutory discrimination questionnaires to ask questions and to request certain documents, to assist them in deciding whether to bring a claim of … Continue reading

Changes to Statutory Redundancy Payments: (last updated 15.04.2021) Employees being made redundant with over two years’ service are entitled to receive a redundancy payment which is calculated at a weeks’ gross pay to a maximum of £544 (£538 before 6 … Continue reading

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