According to the Law Gazette, yes. An article published on it`s website last week predicts that Tribunal`s will ‘struggle to cope` as they are ‘submerged` by a surge in cases stemming from the Equality Act 2010....
Equal Pay for women is always a topical issue but even more so at the moment with the release of the film ‘Made in Dagenham` to stir women up. The coalition government`s emergency budget just compounded matters with the Fawcett Society stating that 72% of budget cuts will be met from women`s income. Could a second wave of feminism be brewing ......
Close to a million people are predicted to lose their jobs in the next four years as a result of budget cuts expected in the Government`s Comprehensive Spending Review, which will be announced next week....
The severity of the government cuts likely to be announced this month will inevitably lead to a substantial reduction in capital spending projects in the public sector. Coupled with uncertainties in the residential and commercial property sectors means that many main contractors are facing tough times and many could go out of business altogether....
As the new series of the Apprentice hits our screens tonight, the BBC has published a story regarding the rise of workers over 50 who are commencing apprenticeships....
Were you one of the unlucky commuters stuck in the middle of the dispute between Trade Unions and staff on the London Underground yesterday? Many commuters faced hours of delays and cancelled trains as they tried to get to and from work after 11,000 members of the RMT union and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) started a 24 hour walk out at 7pm on Sunday night....
That`s right. After many blogs regarding the commencement of the Equality Act 2010, the majority of its provisions are now in force. It will be pretty much business as usual for employers, as the act is mainly a tidy up of the previous discrimination law. Employers will still need to take the same steps to avoid discrimination in their organisations as they always did....
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld a Tribunal`s decision that a belief in spiritualism, life after death and the ability of mediums to contact the dead was capable of protection under dsicrimination law....
He who pays the piper does not call the tune in the Technology and Construction Court when it comes to the giving of expert evidence....
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that gossip about an employee`s pregnancy was discrimination and harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975....
From 1 October 2010, The EIC Environmental Investment Network no longer operates as such, but Forbury Investment Network (FIN) will continue the same activities of helping early stage technology companies secure finance. FIN will still focus on environmental technologies but its remit will include a wider range of sustainable technology and innovation....
From 1st October new National Minimum Wage rates apply....
Government ministers have drawn up a list of over 170 quangos to be abolished, it was reported last week. A further 94 of the tax-funded bodies are also under threat of being scrapped, according to the Daily Telegraph who claim to have seen a Government list. The Cabinet Office has refused to comment on the details of a leaked document....
Simon Clark, Director of lobby group Forest, Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco has expressed concern that smokers will lose out on jobs because their lives at work will become "so complicated that employers will decide it`s too much trouble to employ them."...
Is Lord Young going to blitz Health and Safety Legislation? As we reported a month or so ago, Lord Young has been reviewing health and safety regulations to determine whether they are too onerous....
Employers who are sued by a former employee are unlikley to want to give them a glowing reference. However, a recent case has shown the risks of giving poor references in these situations....
Since the election, there has been a considerable increase in media and political interest in the involvement of the Third Sector in public service provision. The impact of the recession, a rise in the demand for services and a reduction in public and corporate income has created a challenging environment for charities and voluntary groups. Despite claims that the UK is emerging from the recession, cuts to public spending mean that we are probably just entering the most painful phase of uncertainty and job reductions....
US President Barak Obama has failed at his first attempt to abolish the ban on openly gay individuals serving in the US Armed Forces. The "don`t ask don`t tell" policy allows homosexuals to serve in the army provided they do not openly reveal their sexuality. If it becomes common knowledge that officers are gay, they may face expulsion....
The Government`s consultation regarding the right to request time off for training and study closed on 15 August 2010. The "time to train" Regulations only came into force in April this year for employers with more than 250 staff, and are due to apply to smaller companies from April 2011. The Government is currently reviewing a significant amount of legislation that applies to businesses and intends to reduce or simplify this....
Under the Maternity Regulations 1999, an employee who is on maternity leave is entitled to return to the ‘same job in which she was employed before her absence`. If an employee`s job subsequently becomes redundant during her maternity leave period, the employee is entitled to be offered any suitable available vacancy that arises before her employment comes to end. Any dismissal in breach of the Regulations will automatically be unfair....