October 2013 #144 – Law Journals

Enhanced Redundancy Policies: New guidance from the courts

Gary Freer looks at two recent cases that have revisited the issue of when redundant employees have a legal right to additional benefits and when this is a matter for the employer’s discretion ‘In Allen v TRW SystemsLtd and Park Cakes Ltd v Shumba the employers had succeeded in persuading the employment tribunal that the …

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Settlement Agreements: Is that your final offer?

A recent case serves as a useful reminder to employment practitioners to be careful about how they phrase offers to settle employment disputes, warns Phil Allen ‘Frequently, employers who have addressed such issues themselves without legal advice may in practice have entered into a binding and enforceable agreement before you even become involved.’ How careful …

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Restrictive Covenants: Dos and don’ts to protect an employer’s interests

Jonathan Fenn and Clare Fletcher explore the importance of tailoring restrictive covenants to ensure employers maximise their chances of safeguarding confidential information and preventing competitive activities ‘The best covenants are tailor-made to the individual circumstances of both employer and employee.’ Employees gain an in-depth knowledge of their employer’s business, including key customers, suppliers, technology, trade …

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Non-Employment Arrangements: What’s the status?

Susie Al-Qassab analyses recent case law and other developments affecting businesses that have significant numbers of non-employees in their workforce ‘We are seeing a backlash against the cynical and widespread shoehorning of employees into non-employment arrangements in order to avoid rights, protections and cost.’ This article is a round up of recent decisions and developments …

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Internships: All work and no pay

Gus Baker investigates what rights interns have at work and how they are being enforced ‘Over the last two years, the government has announced several high-profile initiatives to ensure that where interns are ‘workers’ they are paid at least the national minimum wage.’ In March this year, Chris Jarvis, a computer games graduate, filed a …

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Data Protection: Dealing with subject access requests

Vanessa Hogan and Oliver Spratt consider the impact on employers of the information commissioner’s new Code of Practice ‘While the Code does offer some helpful guidance, its approach to organisations’ DSAR obligations remains uncompromising.’ It is becoming increasingly frequent for employees to send their employer a data subject access request (DSAR) either in anticipation of, …

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Employee Surveillance: EAT zooms in on use of covert video evidence

A recent decision has focused on when it is acceptable for employers to rely on secret filming when investigating suspected misconduct, reports Mark Kaye ‘The EAT’s stance was very much based on the premise that an employee who has clearly acted fraudulently should not be allowed to hide behind privacy legislation.’The decision by an employer …

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Misconduct Dismissals: Investigating investigations

Nick Dent and David Prior draw out the lessons for employers from recent case law on investigations into potential disciplinary matters ‘Legal advisers should recommend that employers keep an open mind and look for evidence which supports the employee’s case as well as evidence against it.’ An investigation into an employee’s alleged misconduct at work …

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