Following on from Employmentbuddy`s previous blog the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled that Christians have no right to decline working on a Sunday as it is not a core component of the Christian faith....
The Agency Worker Regulations 2010 (‘the Regulations`) came into force on 1 October 2011 and various complaints arising from those Regulations are beginning to surface....
In July 2012 we reported that the Employment Appeal Tribunal had ruled that Miss Quashi, a lapdancer at Stringfellows, was an employee. However, this decision has subsequently been overturned by the Court of Appeal which determined that she was in fact self-employed....
A resolution is defined as a "firm decision to do or not to do something". Here is my list of things that I have made a firm decision to do (at various times and not just for New Year)....
As ever there are many changes to employment legislation confirmed for 2013 and further proposals and consultations that we anticipate will develop. This article outlines our expectations for the year ahead. March 2013 March marks the start of a number of changes to legislation....
The minimum period that employers must wait before making large-scale redundancies will be halved to 45 days from April 2013, the Government has announced this week. The Government will remove the existing 90-day minimum consultation period, which applies where an employer is proposing to make a 100 or more staff redundant. This will be replaced with a 45-day minimum period. The consulta...
It is unfortunate sign of the times when employers do not hold Christmas parties because of the cost and risk of receiving legal claims from employees. However, it does not have to be the case that potential legal claims should deter employers from holding parties. The following guidelines set out a few tips which will reduce the risk of claims.Fighting and threatening behaviourDiscrimination l...
In Miller and others v Interserve Industrial Services Ltd UKEAT/0244/12 the Employment Appeal Tribunal has dismissed the appeal of three trade union members who claimed that they had been refused employment on the grounds of their union membership. The union members brought claims in the Employment Tribunal under both section 137(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 19...
One difficulty for employers since the abolition of the default retirement age in April 2011 has been how to approach the subject of retirement with their older employees in a legitimate context without the perception of any discrimination. In Quick v Cornwall Council and another ET1701914/2011 an Employment Tribunal held that making age related comments regarding a colleague`s retirement...
The limits on employment tribunal compensation awards will increase on 1 February 2013. In cases involving dismissal, the new limits will apply where the effective date of termination falls on or after 1 February 2013. The new figures now mean that the maximum unfair dismissal award can be £87,700 (maximum basic award plus maximum compensatory award). Please see below for a table showing...
We have recently undertaken a survey on workplace mediation in association with Alison Love an accredited workplace mediator and one of our Forbury People consultants. Alison reports on the findings here. The survey looked at the use of mediation and what barriers there might be to the use of mediation as well as success rates and what if any further information or support might be required....
The fairness of dismissals relating to the use of social media has been considered in a number of cases recently highlighting that the distinction between the working and private life is a fine one. The common argument from employers of damage to reputation justifying dismissal, where employees breach codes of conduct set at work through use of social media outside of work, has so far not been re...
In Novak v Phones 4U Ltd UKEAT 0279/12 the EAT considered whether Facebook entries made about an employee by various colleagues were part of a continuing act for discrimination purposes....
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 provides that employers must make reasonable adjustments to a working environment for a disabled employee or job applicant where a provision, criterion or practice ("PCP") places a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to persons who are not disabled. The same duty is now contained in the Equality Act 2010. In Nottingham City Transp...
Businesses have always had issues with sickness absence, some more so than others, and Cardiff Council ("CC") has one of the biggest. CC employees managed an average of 11.49 days off in 2011/12, drastically higher than the UK average of 4.5 days. This absence resulted in huge losses to the authority: over £15 million in sick pay and over £1.5 million in hiring agency staff to cover the work. To...
The BBC reported this week on the findings of the Richard Review on the future of apprenticeships in England published on 27 November 2012. Entrepreneur Doug Richard was asked to consider how to ensure that apprenticeships deliver high-quality training and the qualifications and skills that learners need. As successive governments have encouraged young people to consider apprenticeships instead...
Two senior UK Border Agency officials have formally apologised for misleading MPs over ‘significant failings` in the handling of a huge backlog of asylum and immigration cases. They admitted they had ‘inadvertently misled` Home Office ministers and the Commons home affairs select committee over the backlog and whether security checks had actually been carried out. Their apology was graciously ac...
As a general rule a redundancy dismissal will be unfair if the employer has not undertaken a consultation with the employee prior to the dismissal. However, in exceptional circumstances, an employer may be able to dismiss fairly in these circumstances if it can show that the consultation exercise would have been futile. This defence has recently been accepted by the EAT when it held that an e...
Chelsea Football Club has controversially dismissed its interim manager, Roberto di Matteo, after he joined in March 2012. In commenting upon this, the Club thanked Roberto "for all he has done for the club" including his input in the Champions League victory and a seventh FA Cup. However, it said that the team's recent performances and results had not been good enough. Rafa Benitez has bee...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has provided guidance on what is meant by a "task of short-term duration" when interpreting the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. Background In Liddell`s Coaches -v- Cook and others UKEATS/0025/12 the EAT considered the Tribunal`s ruling that Mr Cook had not transferred to Abbey Coaches. Mr Cook was employed as a driver...