The Women and Equalities Select Committee (“WESC”) has called for the government to either ban or reset the parameters on which NDAs are used by employers to silence employees’ allegations of unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The WESC has commented that it is “completely unacceptable that allegations of unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace are routinely covered up by employers with legally drafted NDAs”....
In December 2017 we blogged on the case of Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others. ...
It is well understood that a recognised trade union can negotiate terms and conditions of employment, and that the outcome of negotiations is recorded in a collective agreement applicable to all staff in the trade union’s bargaining unit. However, the EAT has held that the terms of a collective agreement need to cover the same factual circumstances in an employee’s contract in order to be successfully incorporated....
Judgment in favour of ambulance workers could have wider implications, say employment lawyers. Voluntary overtime for ambulance workers should be factored into holiday pay allocations, providing such overtime is sufficiently regular to form part of a normal remuneration package, a court has ruled....
We now hear much of trade wars and tariffs. However, whatever President Trump and other world leaders do about their respective trade interests, there are also significant underlying trends that will before long cause major disruption to traditional trade and jobs. We should focus more on these trends and not just on the daily news round....
If one of the key individuals in your company, such as a manager or someone with technical skills, was to resign tomorrow morning, would you be able to identify their successor? This is a question that many businesses struggle to answer, with companies more likely to recruit from outside the business when vacancies arise, than look for a suitable replacement among their existing staff. ...
The recent case of Mart v Assessment Services Inc has brought the question of disability and medical treatment to the forefront once again. The Equality Act 2010 offers special protection to individuals who are disabled. ...
This is according to the recent EAT decision in Aston v The Marlet Group. The EAT dismissed the claimant’s victimisation claim, considering the law on the judicial proceedings immunity and paying particular attention to the Supreme Court decision in P v Commissioner of Police in the Metropolis. ...
In Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police an employment tribunal unanimously found that a police force’s recruitment process directly discriminated against a white, heterosexual, male applicant in the first decided case on the use of positive action under s.159 of the Equality Act 2010. ...
It has been revealed that hundreds of UK business are using artificial intelligence to monitor staff activity. Is this an innovative way to analyse productivity or a stressful scrutinisation of individuals’ activity?...
A former Oxford professor lost his Employment Tribunal claim against the University after it was held their employer-justified retirement age (EJRA) was justified. Oxford University introduced a retirement age of 67 for academics, and allowed applications for extensions only in exceptional circumstances, such as to maintain continuity in projects or to complete work....
We previously reported on the cases of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd and Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police which left us with competing judgments on whether a failure to increase statutory parental pay to match enhanced maternity pay would be discriminatory on the grounds of sex. We now have appellate authority from the Court of Appeal in these cases (which were joined). ...
New research shows that nearly 50% of employees have at some point resigned as a direct consequence of their poor working relationship with their boss. Process management firm Process Bliss undertook the research, conducting an online survey within the UK of small to medium sized businesses. ...
In the recent case of Owen v AMEC Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and another, the Court of Appeal held that withdrawing the offer of an international placement due to concerns arising from the Claimant’s medical assessment did not amount to disability discrimination. The Claimant was in poor physical health and suffered from hypertension, kidney disease, ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes and morbid obesity....
In Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE, a trade union in Spain brought a claim against Deutsche Bank, which did not keep a record of the hours its employees worked on a daily basis. The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that if there were no requirement to keep records “it would be impossible to determine objectively and reliably either the number of hours worked by the worker [or] when that work was done”....
According to The Government's Department of Health, 25% of us will experience mental health issues at some point in our lives. A study conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development...
Whilst it may be common place for retail staff to open and close their stores outside of their contractual hours, employers should be wary and ensure that everyone adequately remunerated for such activities. In the recent case Fitz v Holland and Barrett, Employment Judge Siddall posited such advice in her judgement. ...
TAG Alliances celebrates its 20th anniversary with its members in London...
A report released by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has revealed that just 5% of companies would appoint an employee to their board of directors, despite a push by the Government to improve employee participation in board meetings. Under the Corporate Governance Code, companies are asked to strengthen the “employee voice” in boardrooms....
In the recent case of Baldeh v Churches Housing Association of Dudley and District Ltd, the EAT allowed an appeal by a Claimant against the Tribunal’s decision to reject her claim for disability related discrimination. Whilst it was found that the Respondent did not have knowledge of the Claimant’s disability (either actual or constructive) prior to dismissing her, it had gained this knowledge when it was told of her depression at the appeal hearing....