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Christopher Tutton welcomes a new decision enabling tribunals to exclude evidence from discrimination cases if it is of only marginal relevance ‘Tribunals should be more inclined to exclude peripheral evidence, which they may previously have allowed due to a trivial link to the matters in contention, and focus more on the core issues.’The Court of …
Continue reading "Discrimination: Court of Appeal gives guidance on admitting background evidence"
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An employment tribunal has recently determined that it is necessary to add words into the Working Time Regulations 1998 to resolve a conflict over holiday pay in EU and domestic law. Rebecca McGuirk discusses the case ‘The ECJ held that as the commission was intrinsically linked to the performance of tasks that Mr Lock was …
Continue reading "Working Time Regulations: Calculating holiday pay after Lock"
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Legislation passed just before Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election contains a number of important employment law provisions, reports Lauren Pullen-Stanley ‘These reforms will improve transparency and consistency in the way prescribed persons handle disclosures and reassure whistleblowers that action is being taken. The usefulness of these provisions will, however, largely depend on …
Continue reading "New Legislation: Small Business Act – big ambitions"
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Three recent cases have highlighted the difficulties employers face if they wish to make a unilateral variation to employees’ terms and conditions, writes Sarah Parkin ‘Many employers do include unilateral variation clauses in contracts of employment purporting to give them a general power to change terms and conditions unilaterally.’ Changing terms and conditions of employment …
Continue reading "Contracts Of Employment: Imposing changes without consent"
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The EAT seems to be making it harder than ever to advise employers on what amounts to unlawful disability discrimination, argues Phil Allen ‘In deciding a number of recent claims, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has given judgments which may appear correct on the facts, but which highlight how increasingly difficult it is to advise …
Continue reading "Disability Discrimination: All about that case"
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Helen Cookson analyses a recent EAT case concerning dismissal for misuse of public funds ‘A lesson for employers and their advisers when dealing with a SOSR situation is that although they may not be obliged to follow their disciplinary procedure they should, at the very least, follow a procedure that that meets natural justice requirements.’With …
Continue reading "Unfair Dismissal: SOSR terminations require a proper procedure"
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In light of the controversy surrounding Jeremy Clarkson’s sacking, Glenn Hayes explains how to ensure a dismissal for misconduct is fair ‘Properly investigating allegations before deciding on whether to instigate a disciplinary procedure is one of the tenets of acting fairly.’It is difficult to write about Jeremy Clarkson’s removal from Top Gear in anything approaching …
Continue reading "Misconduct Dismissals: Steering clear of trouble"
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Charles Wynn-Evans examines a recent Supreme Court decision considering a challenge to an employer’s decision under provisions in an employment contract providing for the employer to determine a matter in its opinion ‘Braganza presents the possibility of trust and confidence arguments being mounted in relation to employers’ post-termination decisions.’Employment lawyers will be familiar with the …
Continue reading "Contractual Powers: How to reach a reasonable opinion"
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Makbool Javaid and Heather Hacking consider the conflict between employees’ right to express themselves and their responsibilities to their employer ‘Although it is a fundamental pillar of a civilised society, even freedom of expression has its limits, so that there is not, and never can be, an unbridled right to offend.’ The battle for freedom …
Continue reading "Human Rights: Do employees have the freedom to offend?"
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Ed Bowyer and Jo Broadbent provide answers to some of the more difficult queries being raised about the new SPL system ‘If tribunals continue to accept that the purpose of maternity leave is not simply to care for a child, the prospects of a successful direct discrimination claim remain slim.’ Most employers and their advisers …
Continue reading "Shared Parental Leave: Tackling the tricky issues"
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