September 2013 #143 – Law Journals

Collective Redundancy: Established law on ‘establishment’ overturned

Stephen Levinson considers the fallout from the EAT’s decision in the Woolworths litigation ‘The EAT held that the words “at one establishment” in s188(i) could and should be ignored and held that each worker previously excluded should receive a protective award.’ As has been widely publicised, the law on collective redundancies has been reshaped in …

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TUPE: Ensuring ‘a fair balance’

The ECJ has finally put an end to uncertainty about whether transferred employees can benefit from ongoing changes to historic collective agreements, write Emma Burrows and Anna Scott ‘The decisions in Whent and Werhof created a conflict which has led to uncertainty over how far the provisions of collective agreements transfer and bind a transferee.’ …

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Jackson Reforms: If at first you don’t succeed

Peter Frost examines the impact on employment lawyers of the latest attempt to make civil litigation cheaper The Jackson reforms make a number of radical changes to the way cases are to be conducted in the High Court and any practitioner who is not au fait with these changes runs a real risk that they …

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Contract Terms: When does an employee have a ‘right to work’?

Dominic Holmes explores issues facing employers who wish to require employees to stay away from work ‘The right to work is not unqualified or irrefutable. If the employee’s conduct is serious enough to exhibit a lack of readiness and willingness to do the work, the employer can require them to stay away from work.’ Most …

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Redundancy: EAT’s decision was par for the course

A recent case brought by a dismissed golf club secretary has reaffirmed how difficult it is to argue that a tribunal’s ruling was perverse, explains Declan Bradley ‘ Fish reinforces the point that employers should be able to push through their business plans with the confidence that problem employees cannot hide behind their indiscretions to …

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Equality Act: Are apprenticeships discriminatory on the grounds of age?

Rebecca McGuirk discusses whether government funding schemes designed to encourage young people into work are unfair to people in other age brackets ‘If the government was challenged over its apprenticeship funding, then presumably it would argue that there was a social policy, namely encouraging young people into work, to justify any alleged age discrimination, and …

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Workplace Bullying: Understanding the grey areas

Anthony Sakrouge contemplates the sometimes fine line between workplace bullying and robust performance management ‘Millions of working days are lost every year to work-related depression and countless hours of management time spent dealing with bullying allegations, not to mention the legal costs and reputational risk.’ In a recent survey carried out by the Unison trade …

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Public Interest Disclosure: Reforms take effect but spotlight stays on whistleblowing

Following a string of high-profile scandals, interest in whistleblowing looks set to remain high, suggests Fudia Smartt ‘The common belief among workers that there are more risks than benefits in blowing the whistle has led to discussion about whether the UK needs to reward whistleblowers financially.’ On 2 July 1999, the Public Interest Disclosure Act …

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