There’s been a lot discussion in the news this week about public sector pay, with a particular focus on the NHS....
On 1 October 2015, further provisions of the Deregulation Act 2015 (“Act”) were put into place....
Permila Tirkey has been awarded almost £184,000 in unpaid wages from her former employers after a landmark case in which her caste was taken into consideration as part of her race discrimination complaint....
Employers should sit up and take note of the recent decision in Hall v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, which involved a claim of discrimination arising from disability. ...
According to the European Court of Justice, in a case against the Security and Fire Company, Tyco, mobile employees who do not have a fixed place of work should be treated as being on working time from the moment they leave home and travel to their first work assignment and then, at the other end of the day, when they leave their last appointment and travel back home...
The Fit for Work scheme has this week been made available to employers in England and Wales, completing a national roll-out which began in April. This provides occupational health support and advice for GPs, employers, and employees and aims to reduce long term sickness absence....
The national living wage has already started to influence the way businesses are behaving....
Human Resources’ departments are often asked to provide advice and guidance on disciplinary matters, however, a recent case from the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has warned of the risk of overstepping the mark and applying ‘improper’ influence. ...
The Scottish government has announced this week plans to scrap employment tribunal fees north of the border, using new powers included in the Scotland Bill....
As of last month, UK passport holders wishing to visit India can apply online for an “e-Tourist visa”. Applications can be made online through the Government of India’s website, which enables applicants to upload documents, pay the fee of $60 (£39) and track their application. Once an application is submitted, visa entry documents should arrive by email within 4 days....
The UK’s data protection authority - the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - has issued Google with an enforcement notice requiring it to remove links to certain news stories....
Under the Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction Order 1994 (“the Order”) an employment tribunal may hear a breach of contract claim from an employee if it is one that ‘a court in England and Wales would under the law for the time being in force have jurisdiction to hear and determine’ and it arises or is outstanding on termination of the employee’s employment. ...
The Rugby World Cup 2015 is being hosted by England and takes place between 18th September and 31stOctober 2015....
In the recent case of Stevens v University of Birmingham, the High Court has held that the University of Birmingham breached the implied term of trust and confidence by not allowing one of its Professors to be accompanied to a disciplinary investigation meeting by a companion of his choice (Stevens v University of Birmingham [2015] EWHC 2300)....
Under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) an individual can make a request to an organisation to find out what personal data it holds on them (often referred to as a subject access request)....
The Government is committed to ensuring that every person realises their full potential and considers that gender equality will help achieve this. The consultation came as a surprise as it was not expected that a Conservative government would pursue gender equality as a priority. However, on reading the consultation and the background research undertaken by the Women’s Business Council, it becomes clear that the economic benefits of increasing the engagement of women at work are the driving force of the Government’s strategy in this area....
Employees should by now be aware of the dangers of venting their frustrations with employers on Facebook. Recent cases have demonstrated that derogatory comments can lead to fair dismissals even where the comments were made years ago or where a deliberate search was undertaken by the employer to find further comments....
The government has opened a consultation on whether it should devolve Sunday trading rules to local areas, such as cities run by elected mayors and/or local authorities. This would give them greater control of their local economy and could mean significant disparities in Sunday trading rules affecting employees across different parts of the country....
Following consultation, the government has decided not to limit the new reporting requirements of the Modern Slavery Act affecting supply chains just to very big companies. Speaking on his tour of south east Asia, prime minister David Cameron has now confirmed: “From October we will also require all businesses with a £36 million turnover or above to disclose what they are doing to ensure their business and supply chains are slavery free. He went on to say...
The EAT has upheld a tribunal's decision that the scope of regulation 13, Agency Workers Regulations 2010 is limited to providing agency workers with a right to be informed of vacancies within the end user company. It rejected the claim that agency workers were entitled to be afforded equal status with comparable permanent employees in being considered for a vacancy....