Archived Legal Articles from 2018

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Employment & HR

December

Government loses indirect discrimination appeal

27/12/18

A claim was brought by around 230 judges challenging the government's decision forcing younger judges to leave the judicial pension scheme. Members closest to retirement age were permitted to remain on the scheme, whilst younger judges were transferred to a less generous scheme. The judges claimed…

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November

Pay in lieu of untaken leave held to accrue to deceased employee's estate

13/11/18

In Wuppertal v Bauer and Willmeroth Broßonn the CJEU has held that the heir of a worker who dies while in an employment relationship with a public or private employer has a right to financial compensation in lieu of the worker's untaken paid annual leave. The right to annual leave was…

Government Considering the Re-Introduction of Tribunal Fees

13/11/18

On 7th November 2018, the Law Society Gazette published an article suggesting that the Ministry of Justice ("the Ministry") has confirmed it may reintroduce fees for employment tribunal claims. Tribunal fees were introduced in July 2013; initially around £160, and increasing to &…

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October

Liability for Individuals (as well as employers) in Whistleblowing Cases

26/10/18

The recent case of Timis v Osipov [2018] EWCA Civ 2321 is sure to have created uncertainty and worry in boardrooms throughout the country. The Court of Appeal held that two individual directors must pay out £2 million in a landmark whistleblowing decision. The judge held for the first time…

Staff handbook: what you should and shouldn't do as employers

25/10/18

This article offers several tips and guidance for employers to ensure best employment practices are being followed when it comes to drafting and managing company handbooks. The importance and significance of a staff handbook cannot be understated. It is a document that outlines a company's…

Cake-smash Clash of Rights Determination by the Supreme Court

22/10/18

It has been impossible to miss the ongoing case of Lee v Ashers Baking Company Ltd and Others . It has courted a great deal of media attention over the course of the last few years given the strength of feeling among members of the public relating to the facts of the case. Facts The case was…

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September

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July

Social Media in the Workplace

26/07/18

The application and use of Social Media is constantly evolving and the effects are not only far reaching, but constantly changing as the form and use of Social Media evolves. It can be a potential minefield and our training package provides clarity to employers on the issues surrounding the use of…

Recent EAT finding on the impact of overtime on holiday pay

18/07/18

A recent finding of the EAT in Flowers & others v East of England Ambulance Trust has confirmed that both non-guaranteed and voluntary overtime should be included in an employee's holiday pay calculation provided it was sufficiently regular and settled to amount to "normal remuneration&…

Frequently Asked Questions

18/07/18

How far reaching can a workplace dress code be? In summary, dress codes can be a legitimate part of an employer's terms and conditions of service, but any less favourable treatment because of sex could amount to direct discrimination. While dress policies for men and women do not have to be…

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May

EAT Overturns Sex Discrimination Finding Regarding Shared Parental Leave

15/05/18

In the recent appeal made by the Respondent in Capita Customer Management Ltd v Ali UKEAT/0161/17/BA , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that failing to pay a father his full salary during shared parental leave, where a female colleague on maternity leave would have received her full salary…

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April

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March

EAT clarifies position on employer's lack of knowledge of disability

27/03/18

The Employment Appeal Tribunal recently confirmed that the Claimant's strong belief that he has a disability isn't enough to ensure that his employer should be regarded as knowing, or be reasonably expected to know, of his disability. In Toy v Chief Constable of Leicestershire, the Claimant…

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February

Government targets fathers to 'Share the Joy'

22/02/18

The Government has launched an innovative new 'Share the Joy' campaign to encourage more parents to take up the offer of Shared Parental Leave in their baby's first year.  The campaign launch follows discouraging research from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ('BEIS')…

Time spent by employees "on call" to potentially attract pay

22/02/18

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled yesterday that periods on call must be considered to be working time and be paid accordingly. Rudy Matzak, a Belgian volunteer firefighter, began serving in 1981.  Mr Matzak was permitted to stay at home when he was on call, but had to be ready for service…

Tesco Equal Pay

07/02/18

It has been reported today that Tesco is facing Britain's largest ever equal pay claim. Pre-claim conciliation has been commenced in which women that work in stores claim their work to be of equal value with men that work in warehouses. Apparently, the most common rate hourly rate of pay for women is…

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January

Big Brother at Work

26/01/18

Surveillance and privacy in the work has been under the spotlight recently at the European Court of Human Rights. The cases of Antovic and Mirkovic v Montenegro and Lopez Ribaida & Ors v Spain considered whether video surveillance breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights…

What to expect in 2018 - a guide for employers

26/01/18

With the new year already under way and 2017 having rapidly come and gone, we provide employers with an outline of key issues they should note and take steps to prepare for this year. If 2017 was a busy year for employers, 2018 is expected to be even busier. So, what do you need to know (that…

Does the termination of a fixed-term contract amount to unfair dismissal?

26/01/18

The use of fixed-term contracts is widespread across many industries and business sectors. Whilst the mechanism behind this type of contract appears simple, dealing with the expiry of a fixed-term contract is not always straightforward. The Employment Appeal Tribunal in Royal Surrey County NHS…

BBC discloses gender pay gap figures

09/01/18

The BBC is the latest organisation to comply with the reporting obligations in accordance with the Gender Pay Gap Regulations (GPG) 2017, having published their gender pay report together with an equal pay audit. The report shows the difference in the average pay between all men and women within the…

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