21/11/17
Q. In 2015 member of staff in discussing workload with another more junior member of staff has purportedly authorised an increase in hours for the junior staff member equating to 7 hours per week. The junior staff member had not realised until now and has since raised a grievance regarding the…
21/11/17
Metropolitan Police v Denby UKEAT/0314/16/RN [2017] The Claimant, a male officer, was leader of a group within a local force which was consisted of mainly male officers. There was a clear deficiency in gender diversity within this particular group of officers. Deputy Assistant Commissioner…
27/09/17
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force in the UK from 25 May 2018 and will apply to all ' controllers ' and ' processors ' of ' personal data' . The education sector holds vast amounts of personal data relating to its employees, students and pupils who…
25/09/17
Summary of the facts The Appellant in this case was a newly appointed teacher at the school. It was alleged that within the first few weeks of her employment there were three incidents which occurred whilst dealing with particularly challenging children who had special educational needs, for which…
25/09/17
On Tuesday 05 September 2017 the European Court of Human Rights ('ECHR') established a significant legal precedent restricting the extent to which employers can monitor employees office emails. Summary of the case Bogdan Bărbulescu, a Romanian software engineer, was…
24/08/17
Preparing for GDPR The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) due to enter into force on 25 May 2018 is set to bring in a number of changes to the current data protection regime as set out in the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The Government has confirmed that the GDPR will apply and in its…
08/08/17
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has handed down its decision in the case of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Mr G Willetts and Others (UKEAT/ 0334// 16/JOJ). The EAT has held that voluntary overtime does fall within the scope of Article 7 of the Working Time Directive and so, within the…
01/08/17
Today (26 July 2017), the Supreme Court has ruled that the Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunals Fees Order 2013 is unlawful, unconstitutional and will be quashed with immediate effect. This serves as a prominent example of the Courts being willing to limit Governmental…
20/07/17
The apprenticeship levy ('the levy') is now in force. The levy will affect employers with a salary bill over £3 million per year. The employer is required to pay 0.5% of their total salary bill (in most cases this will be basic pay including any additional allowances) less a £15,000…
18/07/17
Following the case of King v. The Sash Window Workshop Ltd., the ECJ's Advocate General has announced that the right to paid leave accrues throughout an employment relationship if the employer does not provide 'adequate facility' for the employee to take paid leave. In this case, Mr…
18/07/17
The Taylor Review also know as the 'Good Work' report was published on 11th July 2017 and is an independent review of modern working practices in the UK. The report was undertaken by Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. It…
26/06/17
Through last week's Queen's Speech, the government confirmed that which the ICO has already indicated: that there will be data protection law in the UK post-Brexit. Alongside the Great Repeal Bill and various others, will sit a Data Protection Bill, as outlined on pages 46 & 47 of the Queen…
23/05/17
Q. We have a Consultant whom works 4 days a week on a variety of projects. In light of the recent cases about self-employed status, is the Consultant self-employed? A. Whether or not the Consultant will be self-employed will depend on a number of factors. Principally, a key factor is whether…
13/04/17
With just over a year to go before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) enters into force you may have started to think about how this impacts your business. A risk based approach is becoming more important because not only are you required to act within the law, you will be required to…
12/04/17
Herry v Dudley Metropolitan BC The workplace has the potential to be a highly pressurised environment for everyone, particularly with the current austere climate within the Public Sector showing no signs of letting up and the uncertainty of Brexit looming in the wake of the triggering of Article…
06/04/17
Isle of Wight Council v Platt [2017] UKSC 28 On 6 April 2017 the Supreme Court delivered its judgement, overturning the decision of the High Court which was that Mr Platt had not breached s444(1) of the Education Act 1996, as his daughter's attendance was otherwise regular notwithstanding the…
24/03/17
The requirement to give notice is an important part of an employment contract and is normally set out in an express term. If a contract is silent on when notice is deemed to be given, there is an implied term for a party to provide reasonable notice . Any failure to provide the required notice is…
21/03/17
O'Brien v Bolton St Catherine's Academy [2017] EWCA Civ 145 Mrs O'Brien was Head of ICT at Withins School, Bolton and subsequently St Catherine's Academy, Bolton after the School converted into an Academy. Mrs O'Brien was assaulted at the School by a pupil, which although she…
16/03/17
Muslim women's rights to wear a headscarf and full-face veil in public places and within the workplace have been subject to major debate. Various European countries have addressed the issue, with France and Belgium restricting such women's rights in 2011, and both Austria and the Netherlands…
24/02/17
Towards the end of 2016, Britain saw arguably the most notable examples of industrial action since the 1980s. Strike action and disputes over various aspects of employment regularly entered the media limelight; ranging from disputes over pay to job descriptions. The mechanics of industrial action…
15/02/17
Childcare Vouchers The government proposed to implement a new tax-free childcare scheme where working families earning at least £50 per week per parent, can claim up to 20% of qualifying childcare costs for children under five and / or children under 17 with disabilities, up to a cap of &…
10/02/17
Pimlico Plumbers' latest attempt to establish that their workforce is self-employed has failed. The London-based firm Pimlico Plumbers provides domestic maintenance requirements for both individual homes and businesses. Charlie Mullins, the founder, employs a workforce of over 270 skilled tradesmen…
19/01/17
The Supreme Court has ruled in the favour of a disabled activist in respect of his campaign for priority use of wheelchair spaces on buses. Mr Paulley is a wheelchair user who attempted to board a bus on 24 February 2012. A woman with a sleeping child in a pushchair refused to fold down the…
10/01/17
Compliance with Subject Access Requests (SARs) can be a lengthy and costly exercise especially where the request may involve reviewing a large volume and range of documents. In the recent case of Dawson-Damer and Others v Taylor Wessing LLP , the High Court provides useful guidance regarding the right…
