In December 2017 we blogged on the case of Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others. ...
It is well understood that a recognised trade union can negotiate terms and conditions of employment, and that the outcome of negotiations is recorded in a collective agreement applicable to all staff in the trade union’s bargaining unit. However, the EAT has held that the terms of a collective agreement need to cover the same factual circumstances in an employee’s contract in order to be successfully incorporated....
Judgment in favour of ambulance workers could have wider implications, say employment lawyers. Voluntary overtime for ambulance workers should be factored into holiday pay allocations, providing such overtime is sufficiently regular to form part of a normal remuneration package, a court has ruled....
Moving to a different country can be an exciting idea, and done right, it can reap its benefits. Universities in the UK feature at the top-end of University rankings, and with easy access to Europe, studying in the UK can be a life-changing decision....
According to EY’s 2019 UK Attractiveness Report the UK has retained its position as the number one destination for Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) projects in Europe while Northern Ireland has recorded a 74% year-on-year increase in FDI projects. Although the report may seem, on the surface, indicative of the UK’s robust ability to still attract investment despite the overwhelming uncertainty of Brexit, there are some key caveats to an optimistic outlook. ...
We now hear much of trade wars and tariffs. However, whatever President Trump and other world leaders do about their respective trade interests, there are also significant underlying trends that will before long cause major disruption to traditional trade and jobs. We should focus more on these trends and not just on the daily news round....
If one of the key individuals in your company, such as a manager or someone with technical skills, was to resign tomorrow morning, would you be able to identify their successor? This is a question that many businesses struggle to answer, with companies more likely to recruit from outside the business when vacancies arise, than look for a suitable replacement among their existing staff. ...
Under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, bidders who are successful in establishing that a public body has breached its duties in the running of a regulated tender are entitled to recover damages. Other remedies may also be available, depending on whether a contract has been entered into or not by the public body....
The recent case of Mart v Assessment Services Inc has brought the question of disability and medical treatment to the forefront once again. The Equality Act 2010 offers special protection to individuals who are disabled. ...
The UK government is to expect its third Prime Minister in July in the 3 years since the EU Exit Referendum took place. The new leader is likely to define the course of Brexit negotiations, and its outcome. As thing stand, the UK is set to leave the EU on 31 October 2019....
This is according to the recent EAT decision in Aston v The Marlet Group. The EAT dismissed the claimant’s victimisation claim, considering the law on the judicial proceedings immunity and paying particular attention to the Supreme Court decision in P v Commissioner of Police in the Metropolis. ...
In Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police an employment tribunal unanimously found that a police force’s recruitment process directly discriminated against a white, heterosexual, male applicant in the first decided case on the use of positive action under s.159 of the Equality Act 2010. ...
The headlease is surrendered If this happens then the tenant under the headlease falls away and the tenant under any underlease becomes the direct tenant of the superior landlord and the premises will continue to be occupied by the undertenant on the terms of the underlease....
It has been revealed that hundreds of UK business are using artificial intelligence to monitor staff activity. Is this an innovative way to analyse productivity or a stressful scrutinisation of individuals’ activity?...
A former Oxford professor lost his Employment Tribunal claim against the University after it was held their employer-justified retirement age (EJRA) was justified. Oxford University introduced a retirement age of 67 for academics, and allowed applications for extensions only in exceptional circumstances, such as to maintain continuity in projects or to complete work....
The Migration Advisory Committee in its latest report, published this week, recommends a major review of the SOL so that includes almost 9% of jobs in the labour market, a significant increase from the current 1%. The Migration Advisory Committee or otherwise known as MAC offers government advice on its immigration policy, and on the Shortage Occupation List (SOL). ...
We previously reported on the cases of Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd and Hextall v Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police which left us with competing judgments on whether a failure to increase statutory parental pay to match enhanced maternity pay would be discriminatory on the grounds of sex. We now have appellate authority from the Court of Appeal in these cases (which were joined). ...
New research shows that nearly 50% of employees have at some point resigned as a direct consequence of their poor working relationship with their boss. Process management firm Process Bliss undertook the research, conducting an online survey within the UK of small to medium sized businesses. ...
In the recent case of Owen v AMEC Foster Wheeler Energy Ltd and another, the Court of Appeal held that withdrawing the offer of an international placement due to concerns arising from the Claimant’s medical assessment did not amount to disability discrimination. The Claimant was in poor physical health and suffered from hypertension, kidney disease, ischaemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes and morbid obesity....
In Federación de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE, a trade union in Spain brought a claim against Deutsche Bank, which did not keep a record of the hours its employees worked on a daily basis. The Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that if there were no requirement to keep records “it would be impossible to determine objectively and reliably either the number of hours worked by the worker [or] when that work was done”....