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Marc Jones and Mandeep Kalsi investigate the increasing use of the PHA in workplace bullying claims ‘To establish a harassment claim under the PHA, the claimant must show a “course of conduct”. However, under the Equality Act, an isolated incident will be deemed sufficient.’ The Equality Act 2010 provides a mechanism for employees to pursue …
Continue reading "Protection From Harassment Act: An alternative route for claimants"
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Charles Wynn-Evans reports on some recent decisions that demonstrate the need for care in drawing up explicit bonus provisions The Court of Appeal decision in Commerzbank Ag v Keen [2006] made it more difficult to challenge employers’ power to award discretionary bonuses. It was held in that decision that to argue successfully that a discretionary …
Continue reading "Bonuses: Be careful what you draft for"
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Is it permissible under the Equality Act to employ an all-white cast on the grounds of authenticity, asks Andrea Nicholls ‘Although the boundaries of what constitutes a “genuine occupational qualification” have been pushed back over the years, there has been general acceptance that, for authenticity, discriminatory casting decisions may be made for dramatic performances.’ There …
Continue reading "Occupational Requirement: Casting confusion"
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Anne Sammon considers the potential impact on employers if the government implements the recommendations in the Davies report ‘To attain higher levels of female board participation, companies may need to consider using the positive action measures in the Equality Act 2010.’ The Davies report on ‘Women on Boards’ has generated debate around the issue of …
Continue reading "Gender Equality: Increasing boardroom diversity"
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The EAT has shed light on what is a fair method for choosing which potentially redundant employee to appoint to a newly created job, reports Jenna Clarke ‘Following a reorganisation of a business, it is often the case, as in Williams, that some roles become redundant but new roles are created.’As advisers, we are all …
Continue reading "Redundancy: Selecting employees for new roles"
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The EAT has extended the protection available to employees who work in the UK for a foreign company, explains Mandeep Kalsi ‘According to the EAT in Pervez v Macquarie Bank, Mr Pervez came within the “legislative grasp of the statutes and regulations” on which his claims were based, even though Hong Kong remained his base …
Continue reading "Territorial Jurisdiction: The long arm of the employment tribunal"
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Paul Harrison and Stephen Ratcliffe discuss the impact of the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 and some key challenges arising from their implementation ‘European case law has generally found that women on maternity leave are in a unique position and so men have not been able to compare themselves to them.’ Paternity leave is, of …
Continue reading "Additional Paternity Leave: Father time"
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The government is repealing the proposed extension of the ‘right to request flexible working’ due to be implemented this month, and will impose a moratorium on new regulations for small businesses, report Stephen Ravenscroft and Helen Mulligan ‘Flexible working may present practical difficulties for employers, particularly in smaller businesses that often do not have the …
Continue reading "Flexible Working: Bending the rules"
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Robert Thomas and Dawn da Silva explore the legal implications of recent findings that longer working hours are causing rising sickness absence, stress and employee grievances ‘Organisations that are “running lean” in staff terms are more likely to experience serious problems that will affect productivity, work quality and, potentially, their competitive advantage.’ A number of …
Continue reading "Working Hours: A time bomb for employers"
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With the government embarking on another review of the UK’s sickness-absence system, Matthew Howse and Emma Damiral suggest practical ways for employers to get their staff back to work ‘The purpose of the fit note was to encourage employees to return to work in some capacity, with appropriate support, rather than stay off work because …
Continue reading "Sickness Absence: Fit for business"
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