Our employment law update for May covers a new EAT case on whether job applicants can bring whistleblowing claims, whether a blatant racial insult falls outside the scope of the Equality Act 2010 because it was not made “in...more
5/29/2025
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equality Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Job Applicants ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Whistleblowers
This week we mark the introduction on 26 October of the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and consider a few recent cases showing that this is a workplace issue that refuses to go away Last Saturday...more
This week we summarise three very recent developments in employment law, one involving the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) and two new cases....more
This week we cover certain selected areas of the Employment Rights Bill, published on 10 October 2024. It is Labour’s flagship employment legislation....more
After a slightly extended summer break, we return with a summary of the new sexual harassment rules due to come into force in just over two weeks....more
10/10/2024
/ Amended Legislation ,
Best Practices ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Equality Act ,
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment ,
Sexual Harassment ,
UK
This week we consider a new EAT decision that emphasises the difficulties of making assumptions about tribunal time limits, particularly the date from when time starts to run....more
8/9/2024
/ Breach of Contract ,
Conciliation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Holiday Pay ,
Payroll Deductions ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Termination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unpaid Wages
This week we focus on a new case looking at the difficulties between balancing protections of religious belief with the rights and protections of LGBTQI+ individuals....more
7/26/2024
/ Adoption ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
European Convention on Human Rights ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Social Networks ,
UK
Welcome to the new Two Minute Weekly.
Following requests from readers, we are changing the format of our employment law newsletter. It will now be weekly and will feature as it did before news items and new cases....more
7/18/2024
/ Compensation ,
Compliance ,
Consultation ,
Draft Guidance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ,
Human Rights ,
International Labor Laws ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Third-Party ,
UK
Our June update includes a new gender critical philosophical belief case exploring some new areas (such as the nature of the workplace), a case on redaction of disclosure documents and whether the redacted material was...more
6/28/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Equality Act ,
EU ,
European Convention on Human Rights ,
Gender Identity ,
Human Rights ,
Protected Activity ,
Redacted Documents ,
Redundancy Dismissals ,
Religious Expression ,
Remote Working ,
Technology Sector ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal
Following last week's insight, "Labour's manifesto and employment law - what can employers expect?", we focus this week on the specific issue of removing qualifying periods and increasing statutory time limits....more
Our May update includes a case on whistleblowing where the claimant’s belief in the disclosures was questioned along with whether decision makers who knew little or nothing about the disclosures could be blamed for those who...more
5/30/2024
/ Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Information Reports ,
Pay Gap ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Termination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Whistleblowers
Our April update includes a case on AI facial recognition software that allegedly discriminated against black people, a case where an individual carrying out a dismissal did not have enough knowledge of protected disclosures...more
4/30/2024
/ Age Discrimination ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equality Act ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Racial Bias ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Termination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Whistleblowers ,
Work Schedules
Are Transgender Individuals “Women” Under the Equality Act 2010, Bringing New Whistleblowing Claims Already Dismissed and Settled Under a COT3, the Necessity of Early Redundancy Consultation, and a General News...more
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill (the Act) recently received Royal Assent and will come into force in October 2024.
Although there is no clue in the title, the Act is concerned exclusively with...more
Our October update includes a significant Supreme Court decision on how to treat historic underpayments of holiday pay, a preliminary tribunal hearing on whether a belief in race equality that opposed critical race theory was...more
10/31/2023
/ Blacklist ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Rights Act ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Equality Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Holiday Pay ,
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redundancy Dismissals ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
UK GDPR ,
UK Supreme Court ,
Underpayment ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Wage and Hour
Our September update includes cases on whether a transgender employee was discriminated against for being subject to a “gender specific” insult, the extent to which employers should enquire about employees’ disabilities in...more
9/28/2023
/ Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employee Rights ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
PHI ,
Sick Leave ,
Transgender ,
TUPE ,
UK
Our July update includes cases on the dismissal of a devout Christian dismissed for gross misconduct for social media criticism of pro-LGBTQ+ teaching at schools, allowances that tribunals should make to litigants in person...more
7/28/2023
/ Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Nepotism Laws ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Equality Act ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Harassment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Human Rights ,
LGBTQ ,
Pending Legislation ,
Public Schools ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Social Networks ,
Termination ,
Transgender ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unconscious Bias ,
Unfair Dismissal
Our April update includes cases on religious belief discrimination in the education sector, with a school chaplain preaching to pupils his views on same-sex marriage, a case considering whether the potentially disruptive...more
4/26/2023
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Retention ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redundancy Dismissals ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Remote Working ,
Sex Discrimination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Whistleblowers
Our March update includes new cases on whether a “without prejudice” letter attaching a settlement agreement and referring to a termination by mutual agreement can be an effective dismissal letter, the role of written...more
3/23/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Maternity Leave ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Redundancy Dismissals ,
Redundancy Payments ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Termination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Work Schedules
Our February update includes new cases on marital status discrimination, including a general refresher on direct discrimination, a case of whether private WhatsApp messages can be used in tribunal proceedings, and how to deal...more
2/22/2023
/ Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Evidence ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Marital Status ,
Marital Status Discrimination ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
WhatsApp
Our January update includes new cases on “without prejudice” conversations on termination of employment, the difficulties of applying 100% “Polkey” reductions in unfair dismissal awards, and issues of employers introducing...more
1/19/2023
/ Bereavement Leave ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Medical Leave ,
Paid Leave ,
Parental Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Privileged Communication ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Without Prejudice Privilege ,
Work Schedules
At the end of November, a French appeal court ruled that an employer could not dismiss an employee (called in this case “Mr T”) for refusing to participate in after-work drinks and team building activities. The judgment made...more
Our September update includes new case law on the controversial area of gender-critical/trans beliefs, a far-reaching anonymity order made by the EAT, dismissals for political beliefs/activities and a news roundup on ACAS...more
9/13/2022
/ Anonymity ,
Conciliation ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Political Affiliation ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Speech ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Transgender ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unfair Dismissal
In the fifth iteration of our 2022 Employment Law Horizon Scanning blog, we consider why employers might start providing or assisting employees with housing and accommodation. We also consider where this trend originates from...more