The recent case of West London Mental Health NHS Trust v Chhabra confirms the need to exercise great care to ensure that disciplinary procedures are not contractually binding on employers. If a court is able to construe a disciplinary procedure as having contractual effect, a breach of the procedure could lead to the employee seeking a court injunction preventing the disciplinary procedure going...
Optimism in our world seems in short supply. The persistent economic challenges of many developed countries have not surprisingly dominated their domestic or regional politics. Daunting social and economic problems of many developing countries seem to have no end in sight. Hostilities in troubled countries create great sadness and damage prospects for future prosperity. There are many examples of weak governance damaging economic growth and investment....
Another recent case has dealt with the question of whether a redundancy policy can be contractual...
As the UK`s immigration rules for overseas students continue to tighten, the number of individuals coming to the UK from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to study has been declining....
A very significant recent case, Walter Lilly v Mackay [2012] EWHC 1773 (TCC) has provided the construction industry with some much needed guidance and clarity in relation to treatment of many of the common elements of construction disputes: extensions of time, concurrent delay and loss and expense....
BIS (the Government Department for Business, Innovation & Skills) has recently announced that it proposes to make fundamental changes to the TUPE 2006 Regulations. The key proposals include: Repealing entirely the ‘service change` provisions, (affecting outsourcing, retendering and bringing work back in house`) to align the definition of a transfer with the wording of European law....
Legal advice privilege entitles a party to withhold evidence from production to a third party or the court where the evidence involves advice between a lawyer and client....
Our nominated charities in 2012 were Alexander Devine`s Children`s Hospice, Cardiff Foodbank and The Mayhew Animal Centre....
On Sunday 17th March we are entering three corporate teams in the Reading Half Marathon. The corporate relay aims to promote healthy workforces and enables companies to enter teams of four who each run approximately three miles of the thirteen mile course....
Under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 (in force from 1st October 2011) agency workers who work in the same role for the same hirer for a period of 12 continuous weeks are entitled to the same "basic working and employment conditions" as they would have received if they`d been hired directly by the hirer....
The Government`s proposals for Settlement Agreements are due to come into force this Summer. Under the proposals employers will potentially be able to negotiate settlements with employees pre-termination without fear of this being used in evidence against them in any unfair dismissal claims. The exception to this is where the employer acts with impropriety - known as "improper behaviour"....
Chris Stops, one of Forbury People`s HR Consultants, has written this blog for us: Given the cold snap we are currently experiencing, and the current run of seemingly unreliable and changeable weather I thought extremes of temperature would be a sensible topic to start the year on....
In a 2011 report, Health at work: an independent review of sickness absence, Dame Carol Black and David Frost CBE highlighted how the State spends £13 billion a year on health-related benefits and employers face an annual bill of around £9 billion for sick pay and associated costs. They made a number of recommendations aimed at minimising absence from work due to ill health...
Subject to Parliamentary process, the Government announced yesterday that it intends to introduce a 12 months` pay cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal....
Anna Hawksworth of Carillion Advice Services details the early concilitation consultation...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that where serious allegations are made against an employee, the employer should ensure that it undertakes a sufficient investigation before dismissing (Stuart -v- London City Airport (UKEAT/0273/12))...
Four Christians (Ms Eweida, Ms Chaplin, Ms Ladele and Mr McFarlane) who were prevented from manifesting their religion in various ways in the workplace unsuccessfully claimed in the UK courts that they had been unlawfully discriminated against on grounds of their religion....
The Department for Business, Innovation & Skills confirmed yesterday that it proposes to make fundamental changes to the TUPE Regulations as follows...
The Green Deal was introduced under powers in the Energy Act 2011 and is a funding mechanism for energy efficiency improvements to property. The regulations come into force on 28 January 2013, the Green Deal being designed to help the government meet its carbon reduction targets without the need for consumers to pay up-front for energy efficiency measures. Instead, the works required to improve the energy efficiency of a property will be carried out by a Green Deal Provider and the occupier will pay for the measures under a Green Deal Plan, over time, as part of their energy bill....
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....