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24 April 2015: Costs Awards in Employment Tribunal proceedings: In Chadburn v Doncaster & Bassetlaw Hospital NHS Foundation Trust reported this week, the EAT upheld a costs award of £10,000 against Mrs Chadburn, despite her current inability to pay it. … Continue reading
17 April 2015: Zero hours worker gets £19,500 for injury to feelings for harassment: In Southern v Britannia Hotels Ltd reported this week, an employment tribunal awarded £19,500 for injury to feelings to a zero hours worker who was subjected … Continue reading
10 April 2015: Whistle-blowing and the Public Interest: It is unlawful to subject someone to a detriment or dismiss them as a result of having made a Protected Disclosure, also known as whistle-blowing). In June 2013 the law … Continue reading
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
13 March 2015: Updated ACAS Code & the Right to be Accompanied The updated ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures plus non-statutory guidance came into effect on the 11 March 2015. Amongst other things the updated code … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
5 December 2014: Plumbing the Depths of Employment Status: Some businesses engage staff on a ‘self employed’ basis to avoid PAYE obligations, employee rights (such as the right not to be unfairly dismissed) and worker rights (mainly the right to paid … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
3 October 2014: On the 1st October 2014 the National Minimum Wage increased. It’s now: Adults: Up from £6.31 to £6.50 per hour Young Worker: Up from £5.03 to £5.13 per hour. The London Living Wage remains £8.80 per hour … Continue reading
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
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
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
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 (C-354/13) the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has given … Continue reading
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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