When there is a dispute about the performance of a contract, one of the first issues that must be determined is which law applies to that contract, particularly where the parties to the contract are based in different countries or the contract involves working overseas. For example, which law will apply to a contract between Peruvian and Malaysian companies to transport goods between Nigeria and India? The law applicable to that contract will inevitably impact on the outcome of any dispute that arises from the performance of that contract....
Litigation can be a very expensive and time consuming process that can be a real drain on a party`s resources. In some cases, the costs of fighting litigation and recovery of those costs can become as important to a party as winning the claim. Mediation is generally seen as a successful method of resolving disputes cheaply and quickly...
A resolution is defined as a "firm decision to do or not to do something". Here is my list of things that I have made a firm decision to do (at various times and not just for New Year)....
As ever there are many changes to employment legislation confirmed for 2013 and further proposals and consultations that we anticipate will develop. This article outlines our expectations for the year ahead. March 2013 March marks the start of a number of changes to legislation....
This is a question I hear often when meeting foreign business leaders and ambassadors. To what are they referring? World recession and the general decline in business globally, normally means that businesses are clamouring for opportunities the world over....
It is not unusual for leases to contain an obligation on the landlord to manage the property "in accordance with the principles of good estate management" which seems to mean little more than "well". It may indicate that the company managing the property should have regard to issues of more than just its own profit but the phrase does not include or refer to any objective standards and there are certainly no "principles" published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or any other body....
The minimum period that employers must wait before making large-scale redundancies will be halved to 45 days from April 2013, the Government has announced this week. The Government will remove the existing 90-day minimum consultation period, which applies where an employer is proposing to make a 100 or more staff redundant. This will be replaced with a 45-day minimum period. The consulta...
It is unfortunate sign of the times when employers do not hold Christmas parties because of the cost and risk of receiving legal claims from employees. However, it does not have to be the case that potential legal claims should deter employers from holding parties. The following guidelines set out a few tips which will reduce the risk of claims.Fighting and threatening behaviourDiscrimination l...
The Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) category of the Points Based System is a visa for people from outside Europe who are internationally recognised as world leaders in science, humanities, engineering and the arts who want work in the UK. While the threshold or standard of criteria to be met to qualify under this category may be high, the benefit is that applicants who can show genuine expertise i...
In Miller and others v Interserve Industrial Services Ltd UKEAT/0244/12 the Employment Appeal Tribunal has dismissed the appeal of three trade union members who claimed that they had been refused employment on the grounds of their union membership. The union members brought claims in the Employment Tribunal under both section 137(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 19...
One difficulty for employers since the abolition of the default retirement age in April 2011 has been how to approach the subject of retirement with their older employees in a legitimate context without the perception of any discrimination. In Quick v Cornwall Council and another ET1701914/2011 an Employment Tribunal held that making age related comments regarding a colleague`s retirement...
The limits on employment tribunal compensation awards will increase on 1 February 2013. In cases involving dismissal, the new limits will apply where the effective date of termination falls on or after 1 February 2013. The new figures now mean that the maximum unfair dismissal award can be £87,700 (maximum basic award plus maximum compensatory award). Please see below for a table showing...
We have recently undertaken a survey on workplace mediation in association with Alison Love an accredited workplace mediator and one of our Forbury People consultants. Alison reports on the findings here. The survey looked at the use of mediation and what barriers there might be to the use of mediation as well as success rates and what if any further information or support might be required....
According to the Yorkshire Post, 10 members of staff at Leeds Professional College were arrested on 4th December 2012 on suspicion of immigration offences. Adrian Watkins of the UK Border Agency`s (UKBA) financial and criminal investigation unit told the Yorkshire Post that the arrests related to students failing to attend classes, working illegally or disappearing. Leeds Professional College w...
The fairness of dismissals relating to the use of social media has been considered in a number of cases recently highlighting that the distinction between the working and private life is a fine one. The common argument from employers of damage to reputation justifying dismissal, where employees breach codes of conduct set at work through use of social media outside of work, has so far not been re...
In Novak v Phones 4U Ltd UKEAT 0279/12 the EAT considered whether Facebook entries made about an employee by various colleagues were part of a continuing act for discrimination purposes....
John Vine, Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration published his report on 29th November 2012 on Tier 4 of the UK Border Agency`s (UKBA) Points Based System....
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 provides that employers must make reasonable adjustments to a working environment for a disabled employee or job applicant where a provision, criterion or practice ("PCP") places a disabled person at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to persons who are not disabled. The same duty is now contained in the Equality Act 2010. In Nottingham City Transp...
Businesses have always had issues with sickness absence, some more so than others, and Cardiff Council ("CC") has one of the biggest. CC employees managed an average of 11.49 days off in 2011/12, drastically higher than the UK average of 4.5 days. This absence resulted in huge losses to the authority: over £15 million in sick pay and over £1.5 million in hiring agency staff to cover the work. To...
The BBC reported this week on the findings of the Richard Review on the future of apprenticeships in England published on 27 November 2012. Entrepreneur Doug Richard was asked to consider how to ensure that apprenticeships deliver high-quality training and the qualifications and skills that learners need. As successive governments have encouraged young people to consider apprenticeships instead...