In Stuart Delivery Ltd v Augustine, the UK Court of Appeal confirmed that a courier who could offer a time slot he had signed up to cover to other couriers was still obliged to perform work personally. This meant that he was...more
In the government’s response to the carer’s leave consultation it confirms that it will introduce five days’ unpaid carer’s leave per year for employees. This will be a day one right that employees can take on a flexible...more
The UK government published a consultation paper on making flexible working the default. Possible changes to the current framework include removing the service requirement for making a request, allowing more than one request...more
In Gwynedd Council v Barratt the UK Court of Appeal confirmed that a redundancy dismissal will not be unfair solely because an employer has not offered an employee a right to appeal. However, failing to offer an appeal...more
In Aleem v E-Act Academy Trust the UK EAT decided that it was not a reasonable adjustment to continue to pay an employee at her previous higher rate when she moved to a different lower-paid job because of a disability....more
The UK government has published its national disability strategy, which is designed to help reduce the disability employment gap and ensure that disability is not a barrier to someone’s ability to reach their full potential....more
The UK government’s response to the 2019 consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace confirms that it will introduce a legal duty on employers to protect workers from harassment, re-introduce protection against...more
The UK Supreme Court decision in Royal Mail Group Ltd v Efobi confirms that employees must still prove facts from which a tribunal could draw an inference of discrimination before their claim can proceed, despite a change of...more
7/28/2021
/ Burden of Proof ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equality Act ,
Evidence ,
International Labor Laws ,
Race Discrimination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
UK Supreme Court
An employee will succeed with an indirect sex discrimination claim if she can show that her employer applied a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) that put women (including the employee) at a disadvantage when compared...more
Independent trade unions are entitled to apply for compulsory recognition on behalf of workers in a bargaining unit if certain conditions are met.
The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWUGB) applied for...more
In this weeks issue: Who knew? Women less likely to be able to accommodate certain working patterns Spring in the step - Deliveroo riders not workers for trade union recognition Going, going, gone - final edition of the...more
A tale in two parts - COVID-19 and health and safety dismissals There have been more employment tribunal decisions examining when a COVID-19 related dismissal will be automatically unfair for health and safety reasons. One...more
If not now then when? Tribunal should have identified when jurisdiction established -
An employment tribunal only has jurisdiction to hear claims under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and Equality Act 2010 if the claimant...more
Too little, too late - employer could not cure fundamental breach - If an employer commits a repudiatory breach of contract, an employee is entitled to accept the breach by resigning. They can then claim unfair constructive...more
Ethnicity pay gap reporting is currently voluntary in the UK. The Government ran a consultation for employers about ethnicity pay gap reporting that ended in January 2019, and on 9 February 2021, the Women and Equalities...more
First tribunal guidance on "serious and imminent" danger in context of COVID-19 -
In Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd the Employment Tribunal considered whether an employee had been unfairly dismissed for refusing to attend...more
4/26/2021
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
UK ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Workplace Safety
Cashiered – supermarket staff succeed in Supreme Court -
To bring an equal pay claim, an employee has to point to a comparator of the opposite sex doing like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value. If the...more
4/12/2021
/ Adoption ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
Holiday Pay ,
International Labor Laws ,
Parental Leave ,
Sex Discrimination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour
Employment newsletter In this weeks issue: Beating around the bush – disclosure did not have to identify legal obligation Gone fishing – disclosure in equal pay claims All change – tribunal limits and pay gap reporting ...more
Timed out – reasonable steps defence fails because training stable -
An employer can defend a discrimination claim under the Equality Act if it has taken all reasonable steps to prevent employees from committing acts of...more
2/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Economic Impact Analysis ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equality Act ,
Harassment ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Labor Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Race Discrimination ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour
Tell it like it is – email referring to potentially discriminatory conduct not a protected act -
In Chalmers v Airpoint Ltd the EAT in Scotland found that an employee had not done a protected act for the purposes of a...more
See no evil – new employer breached equitable duty of confidence - In Travel Counsellors Ltd v Trailfinders Ltd, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that Travel Counsellors was in breach of an equitable duty of confidence...more
Read all about it – agency worker had right to be informed about vacancies, not to apply for them -
It is perhaps surprising that nearly ten years after the Agency Workers Regulations (the Regulations) came into force, the...more
One size doesn’t fit all – non-compete unreasonable and void -
In Quilter Private Client Advisers v Falconer the High Court found that a nine month non-compete covenant was in restraint of trade and void. The case is a...more
If it ain't broke – material factor still explained pay disparity after job evaluation -
Employers have a defence to an equal pay claim if they can show that a difference in pay between an employee and their comparator is...more
9/16/2020
/ Data Breach ,
Data Collection ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Pay ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Redundancy Dismissals ,
UK ,
Wage and Hour
This note addresses some of the key questions employers are asking about their obligations to employees when businesses start to re-open on a phased basis after the UK's approach to lockdown is scaled back. It will be updated...more