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
Motive matters -
Employer not liable for rogue employee's data breach -
The Supreme Court confirmed that an employer was not vicariously liable for a data breach carried out by an employee as a personal vendetta against the...more
Turning a blind eye – one-off act not a PCP -
In Ishola v Transport for London the Court of Appeal confirmed that it was not a provision, criterion or practice to require an employee to return to work before a proper...more
2/26/2020
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Grievance Process ,
Gross Misconduct ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Law Violations ,
New Guidance ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
UK ,
Unfair Dismissal
Gathering clouds – flawed investigation made dismissal unfair -
In Sunshine Hotel Ltd t/a Palm Court Hotel v Goddard the EAT agreed that failing to hold an investigatory meeting does not necessarily make a dismissal...more
1/13/2020
/ Employee Misconduct ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Job Promotions ,
Labor Regulations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Workplace Investigations
Red faces – no gross misconduct when employee revealed executive's pay -
The EAT had to consider whether an employee had acted in breach of contract or committed gross misconduct when he revealed details of an executive's...more
12/16/2019
/ Couriers ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Pay ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
It's not what you know – dismissal for whistleblowing despite dismissing manager's belief -
In Royal Mail Group Ltd v Jhuti the Supreme Court has reinstated a decision that an employee was dismissed because she had blown...more
12/3/2019
/ Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Entitlements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Holidays ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Retaliation ,
Senior Managers ,
Sick Leave ,
Trade Unions ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Further developments in relation to harassment -
The EAT confirmed in Bessong v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust that as the law currently stands employers will not generally be liable for third party harassment of...more
11/5/2019
/ Appeals ,
Appeals Tribunals ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Copyright ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ,
International Labor Laws ,
Inventions ,
Inventors ,
Ownership of Works ,
Sexual Harassment ,
UK
Coming clean – false reason for dismissal shifted burden of proof -
In Base Childrenswear Ltd v Otshudi the Court of Appeal confirmed that giving a false reason for dismissal and persisting with it was enough to shift the...more
10/21/2019
/ Appeals ,
Aviation Industry ,
British Airways ,
Burden of Proof ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Relations ,
Race Discrimination ,
Strike ,
UK ,
UK Parliament ,
Unions
Noteworthy – no holiday pro-rating for "part year" music teacher -
In The Harpur Trust v Brazel the Court of Appeal confirmed that a music teacher was entitled to be paid for 5.6 weeks' annual holiday, even though she only...more
9/9/2019
/ Constructive Discharge ,
Diversity ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) ,
Foreign Workers ,
Holiday Pay ,
Immigrants ,
International Labor Laws ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour
Something old – government responds to two consultations -
The government has outlined its proposals for regulating confidentiality clauses in the context of discrimination and harassment claims, and on extending...more
7/29/2019
/ Confidentiality Policies ,
Contract Terms ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Flexible Work Arrangements ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Parental Leave ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
UK ,
Wage and Hour
Cut it out! Covenant severed to make it enforceable -
In Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd the Supreme Court revisited the question of when it is possible to sever words from a restrictive covenant to make it enforceable, taking...more
7/15/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Facebook ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
Race Discrimination ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sexual Harassment ,
UK
Perception is king – rejection for hearing impairment perceived disability discrimination -
In The Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey the Court of Appeal confirmed that rejecting a transfer request from someone with a...more
7/1/2019
/ Age Discrimination ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
International Labor Laws ,
Labor Regulations ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour ,
Whistleblowers
No handbrake turns – holiday pay included voluntary overtime pay -
The Court of Appeal confirmed the EAT decision in East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust v Flowers that holiday pay has to include voluntary overtime...more
6/17/2019
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Holiday Pay ,
International Labor Laws ,
Non-Disclosure Agreement ,
Over-Time ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour
Fatherhood penalty – statutory shared parental pay not discriminatory -
In Ali v Capita Customer Management Ltd and The Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police v Hextall the Court of Appeal confirmed that paying enhanced...more
Battle Royal – handling of boardroom dispute was repudiatory breach -
The High Court decision in Stobart Group Ltd v Tinkler explores the extent of a director's duties in the context of a boardroom dispute....more
5/13/2019
/ Appeals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
HMRC ,
Jurisdiction ,
NICS ,
UK ,
Wages
Home or away – hearing claims against international defendants -
Two recent cases, one in the CJEU and one in the EAT, found that courts and tribunals in Great Britain had jurisdiction in principle to hear claims against...more
4/29/2019
/ Appeals Tribunals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
EU ,
EU Directive ,
Foreign Defendants ,
International Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
UK ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
Space invaders – parking policy relevant to reasonable adjustments claim -
In Linsley v Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs the EAT confirmed that the employer's parking policy should not have been...more
4/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
International Labor Laws ,
Parking Lots ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Trade Unions ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Unfair Dismissal
Get it right – mistaken belief was not disability related -
In iForce Ltd v Wood an employee's mistaken belief that new working practices would worsen her disability did not make her written warning for refusing to follow...more
No objection – TUPE was principal reason for dismissal -
In Hare Wines Ltd v Kaur, the Court of Appeal confirmed that a TUPE transfer was the principal reason for an employee's dismissal, despite the employer's evidence...more
3/4/2019
/ Disability ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Tribunals ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
TUPE ,
UK ,
Unfair Dismissal ,
Wage and Hour
Looking back – limited appeal investigation not unfair -
It was not unfair for an employer to place limits on a disciplinary appeal investigation where the employee's representative had agreed to this, according to the EAT...more
Yeah but no but – Government response to sexual harassment report -
The government's response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report on sexual harassment in the workplace was published just before Christmas. ...more
No right to dismiss where employee entitled to disability payments -
In Awan v ICTS UK Limited the EAT confirmed that there was an implied term in the employee's contract that his employer would not dismiss him for...more
Informed choice – choosing English law relevant to jurisdiction -
In The British Council v Jeffery and Green v SIG Trading Ltd the Court of Appeal confirmed that choosing English law to govern an employment contract is a...more
11/12/2018
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gross Negligence ,
Hiring & Firing ,
International Labor Laws ,
Jurisdiction ,
Payroll Periods ,
UK ,
UK Employment Appeal Tribunal ,
Wage and Hour
Who's the boss? Employer liable for MD's assault on member of staff -
The Court of Appeal found an employer liable for its managing director's assault on a member of staff during a post-Christmas party drinking session, in...more
Weekly newsletter on employment matters.
In this weeks issue:
- Testing the limits – no sexual orientation discrimination in "gay cake" case
- No work, no holiday – holiday did not accrue during parental leave
...more