The Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently overturned a Tribunal`s decision that a claimant diagnosed with Selective IgA Deficiency had a disability (Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust -v- Norris). Selective IgA Deficiency is a defect of the immune system, the usual symptoms of which are that people may suffer from recurrent diarrhoea and upper respiratory infections. Miss Norris bro...
This was the question which the Court of Appeal has recently considered in the case of Thomas Brown -v- London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (decision handed down on 26 October 2012). Mr Brown had worked for the London Borough for 38 years until his retirement on grounds of ill health on 19th May 2004. Mr Brown`s last working day was 30 June 2003 when he suffered a mental breakdown. Th...
Mental health problems are costing UK businesses £26bn and the NHS an extra £10bn a year. Mr Milliband hopes to provide patients with the same legal right to mental health therapies as physical healthcare....
In Heafield v Times Newspaper Ltd, Mr Heafield was a practising catholic although his colleagues did not know this. He worked as a casual sub-editor for The Times which involved him writing headlines and editing the stories provided by reporters to fit the editor`s specifications. Before being allocated a headline each story would be given a one word working title. So for example a story about...
In the case of FW Farnsworth Ltd and another v Lacy and others the High Court has held that an employee was bound by the terms of a new contract of employment provided to him after he was promoted, but which he had not signed and returned to his employer....
The Supreme Court has just made it easier for employees to bring equal pay claims against their employers....
The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") has decided against providing guidance on the correct trigger point for collective consultation where an employer wished to make twenty or more employees redundant....
On 1st July 2013, the Republic of Croatia will gain accession to the EU. After this date, Croatian nationals will no longer be subject to immigration control. However, restrictions will be imposed on Croatian nationals which are similar to those imposed on Romanian and Bulgarian nationals....
A gay couple booked to stay at a B&B in Berkshire. Upon arrival they were refused their room by the owner, Mrs Wilkinson. It has been ruled that they were discriminated against and they were awarded £1,800 each for "injury to feelings"....
The High Court considered in Netjets Management Limited v CAC and another [2012] EWHC 2685 what territorial limits exist on the Central Arbitration Committee`s (CAC) jurisdiction to consider a request for union recognition....
The DWP has brought into effect section 87 of the Pensions Act (PA) 2008, repealing the stakeholder pension designation requirements from 1 October 2012....
Chancellor, George Osborne, has announced legislation which will introduce a new ‘owner-employee` contract....
Thank you to everyone who participated in our online survey on the Government`s Consultation on the current law regarding collective redundancies. We received responses from a diverse cross section of businesses with employee numbers ranging from 40 to 2,500. We have included the results of the survey, together with feedback from a variety of employers that we have spoken to in our formal response to the consultation....
In the case of Taiwo v Olaigbe and others it was held that a claimant could pursue a claim of post-employment victimisation under the Equality Act 2010. It was noted that section 108 of the Equality Act 2010, which renders post-employment discrimination and harassment unlawful, expressly did not apply to acts of victimisation. However, this appeared to be a drafting error. Applying a purposive ap...
A recent case, Patsystems Holdings Ltd v Neilly, has highlighted some of the important factors courts will use to determine the enforceability of restricted covenants in employment contracts. Often when employees gain promotion their employment contracts will remain on the original terms, which might be out of date. In this case a junior employee was given inappropriate restrictions in his c...
New laws have come into force today, 1 October 2012, that require UK employers to automatically enrol eligible workers into a pension scheme and make mandatory minimum contributions on their behalf. The reforms are being implemented gradually, with only large employers that employ 120,000 or more staff having to comply from today, and those employing 50,000-119,999 staff having to comply by 1 Nov...
Where an employee is absent from work from one employer due to a temporary cessation of work and then starts work with an associated employer, is the employee continuously employed for purposes of bringing an unfair dismissal claim? The facts In Holt v EB Security Ltd UKEAT/0558/11/CEA, Holt ("the Claimant") was employed at a pub from July 2007 until it closed and his employm...
On 14 September Vince Cable announced the Ending the employment relationship consultation which covers ways to encourage the use of compromise agreements, to be renamed "settlement agreements", as a way for parties reaching mutual agreement where the employment relationship has broken down Proposals The consultation, which closes on 23 November 2012, has sought views on proposals that aim to al...
The case of Neijjary v Aramark Ltd confirms that employers need to be careful when dismissing on misconduct grounds where a number of allegations are made, not all of which may be upheld on appeal. It also deals with the issue of contributory fault. In this case, Mr Neijjary was employed as a hospitality manager by Aramak, a hospitality services company, at a Goldman Sachs site. He was summarily...
Vince Cable has announced various consultations on employment law. These proposed changes to employment law are part of the Government`s systematic review of employment law to reduce employment red tape and give firms more flexibility and confidence in managing their workforce. BIS reports that these proposed reforms are most likely to benefit small businesses. The consultations announced...