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Disciplinary Procedures: Dismissing for criminal behaviour

Matthew Ramsey and Jenny Steer consider how employers should respond if an employee is arrested or charged with an offence by the police ‘The statutory ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets out the essentials of a reasonable investigation. The precise requirements of the process will vary from case to case, but …
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Employment Status: Are contract terms worth the paper they’re written on?

Stephen Ratcliffe and Colin Leckey examine the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision about when courts and tribunals should disregard express written contractual terms ‘The Supreme Court’s decision provides welcome clarification of the circumstances in which an employment relationship may arise even where this contradicts express written terms.’ The Supreme Court in Autoclenz Ltd …
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Gender Equality: Achieving diversity across the board

Anne Sammon looks at the latest moves aimed at increasing the number of women in senior positions in UK and European companies ‘No longer is board diversity being seen as just an equality issue. It is now also being seen as crucial for corporate governance, with increasing amounts of research suggesting that gender diversity on …
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Retirement Notices: Moving the goalposts

A recent EAT ruling means that the repealed statutory retirement procedures could come back to bite employers, warn Michael Cole and Charlotte Stafford ‘Under the Regulations, employers needed to serve employees with notice of retirement six to 12 months before the intended date of retirement.’ In the diary of most employers, 5 April 2011 was …
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Grievance Hearings: Beware of apparent bias

The presence of a person on an employer’s grievance hearing panel who was perceived to be biased could amount to a fundamental breach of contract and give rise to a constructive unfair dismissal, explains David Ludlow ‘The principles of natural justice require that the hearing afforded to the employee is, in all the circumstances, a …
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International Labour Law: Acting global, thinking local

Russell Brimelow, Gemma Chubb and Rachel Rooksby give their tips on how to manage a cross-border workforce successfully ‘If an employer managing a multinational workforce remembers one thing, it should be that Europe’s myriad of employment laws is like its flags – different from country to country.’ Inevitably, the international labour market has changed significantly …
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Whistleblowing: Uncovering misconduct

Caroline Stroud and Lara Zellick show why organisations need to encourage employees to disclose malpractice as part of their anti-corruption procedures ‘“Whistleblowing” describes the situation where an employee raises a concern about malpractice or wrongdoing within an organisation.’ Whistleblowing is once again moving up the corporate agenda in the UK as a result of the …
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Agency Workers: A temporary challenge

Suzanne Horne analyses the key issues for employment lawyers raised by the new protections for agency workers coming into force next month ‘Agency workers will be entitled to access facilities and information on job vacancies from day one of their assignment. However, to qualify for the other rights, they must work 12 calendar weeks in …
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Changing Terms And Conditions: Going down

Kate Barker and Jo Broadbent examine the use of dismissal and re-engagement on less pay as a way of avoiding redundancies ‘Tribunals will adopt the wrong approach if they set the hurdle too high in determining whether an employer’s reasons for a change justify subsequent dismissals.’ In these troubled economic times employers are continuing to …
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Right To Be Accompanied: New guidance on legal representation

Most employees will not be entitled to a lawyer at disciplinary hearings following an important Supreme Court ruling, reports Laura Kearsley ‘The employer should try to accommodate the chosen representative unless they would prejudice the hearing or create a conflict of interest.’ Employees’ right to be accompanied at formal disciplinary and grievance meetings is well …
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