The UK Court of Appeal (CA) has handed down its judgment in the case of Higgs v. Famor’s School, adding to the growing body of case law that examines the complex issue of balancing employees’ freedom to express potentially...more
Happy New Year! In our first monthly alert for 2025, we report on whether comments on an employee’s accent are unlawful harassment, on ‘gig economy’ worker rights – plus guidance on employers’ duties to prevent sexual...more
Back in June, we highlighted that, from October 26, 2024, all employers in the UK will have a mandatory duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment. We...more
As we previously reported, from October 26, 2024, under the (not-so-concisely named) Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 – which we are calling “the Worker Protection Act” – all employers in the UK...more
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has confirmed that it will be updating its existing Code of Practice and technical guidance on ‘Sexual harassment and harassment at work’ to address the new mandatory duty that...more
In this issue, we discuss upcoming regulatory changes as well as recent court decisions with far-reaching implications, including case law on the need to replace share awards on a TUPE transfer and a UK Supreme Court ruling...more
The UK Government is supporting the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill to significantly expand employers’ liability for harassment in the workplace....more
Settlement agreements are a pragmatic and effective tool in resolving workplace disputes. The employee benefits from financial support and a dignified exit, and the employer achieves a clean break. However, when used...more
Continuing focus on sexual harassment - The EHRC has published technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work, while the Government Equalities Office launched a survey on people's experience of sexual...more
We include the 2018 chapter in its entirety for reference following the 2019 update. Background - As part of last year’s Labour & Employment group paper, "Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: What Your Company Needs to...more