Legal Article
19/12/18
Use of school facilities for breakfast clubs and other after school activities - what are the school's responsibilities when hosting these activities? The responsibilities that a school may have when its facilities are being used for breakfast clubs and other after school activities will…
Legal Article
19/12/18
Where there are issues with an employee's performance, employers should always consider whether a disability could be affecting their behaviour or ability to perform. A disability is defined under the Equality Act 2010 (Act) as 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and…
Forbes News
18/12/18
Darren Harrison of Twickenham was a Deputy Head teacher at Isleworth Town Primary School (the School). Six months into his role, he was suspended. Following an IT audit carried out by the School, it transpired that there were large volumes of sensitive personal data on the School's servers from two…
Legal Article
17/12/18
Bridgend County Borough Council has been fined after a boy ran into the path of a school bus and was killed. In 2014, the boy had finished school and was crossing the road to board his bus home when the collision with a minibus took place. The HSE found that the layby created before the school…
Legal Article
17/12/18
Following a week of snow and plummeting temperatures it is the ideal time to consider whether your organisation is prepared for all the winter season might have to offer. Here is a quick checklist to ensure that you have appropriate systems in place and taken the necessary steps to protect staff, pupils…
Forbes News
30/11/18
Forbes Solicitors has beaten off national and local competition to win a two-year contract to supply all legal services to Preston's College. The firm's successful tender for the Legal Services Contract covers Employment and HR, Commercial, Corporate Finance, Investments and Taxation,…
Legal Article
22/11/18
Government guidance issued by the Department for Education came into force at the beginning of the new academic year changing the "disqualification by association" rules. From September, staff working with young children in schools will no longer need to apply to Ofsted for a waiver if they…
Legal Article
20/11/18
The HSE reported following the introduction of the new Sentencing Guidelines in February 2016, that in the following year to end March 2017 there had been a 80% increase of fines from the previous year - an increase of fines of £69.9m from £38.8m. Admittedly, the increase in fines is…
Legal Article
20/11/18
It is a factor of modern life that more and more aspects of education are moving onto digital platforms. From school websites to mobile applications, cloud services to distance learning, more and more personal data is being processed online, and in the case of schools this would involve the personal…
Legal Article
09/11/18
Mr Hargreaves ('the Claimant') was a teacher of Art and Design from 1 September 2005 until 17 June 2016 at the respondent school ("the Respondent"). He had an unblemished record until it was alleged that he had grabbed a pupil, pushed him against the wall and put his fingers to the…
Legal Article
19/10/18
Q. What would happen if, during a restructuring process, a teacher opted to move to part-time working? Would his/her salary be safeguarded at the original level or at a pro-rata level? A: 36.1 of the states that "Whether the teacher was a full-time teacher or a teacher in regular…
Legal Article
19/10/18
In July 2018, the ICO formally acknowledged a data breach involving the Capita SIMS system. The data breach affected a number of schools who use their services. The report to the ICO was made pursuant to the GPDR, which came into force on 25 May 2018, which confirms that controllers have an obligation…
Legal Article
19/10/18
An updated version of Keeping Children Safe in Education came into force on 3 September 2018. Annex H on pages 104-111 of Keeping Children Safe in Education sets out the changes in full and is a helpful starting point for school leaders and governors. In accordance to Part 1, all staff working in…
Legal Article
19/10/18
A recent case before the European Court of Justice considered whether, pursuant to EU Law, an employer founded on the principles of a religion or belief can dismiss a worker it requires to follow that religion of belief because of the employee's stance around that belief. In IR v JQ the ECJ…
Legal Article
07/09/18
On 30 July, the Supreme Court handed down it's judgment in relation to R v Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. R, a teacher, issued proceedings in December 2012 challenging the lawfulness of the inclusion of a past allegation and acquittal in an Enhanced Criminal Record Certificate (…
Legal Article
19/06/18
In city of York Council -V- Grosset The Court of Appeal upheld a claim for stress arising out of a disability amounting to discrimination in the workplace. Mr Grosset, an English teacher, who had cystic fibrosis was suffering an increased workload. In conjunction with this, his Department had…
Legal Article
19/06/18
Q: Do we have to open up applications for a full time position to staff on fixed term contracts? A: Yes, a fixed-term employee has the right not to be treated less favourable than a comparable permanent employee with regards the terms of their contract or any other detriment. Regulation 3(2)(c…
Legal Article
04/04/18
With the 4 April 2018 deadline for submitting gender pay gap information looming, of 181 primary and secondary schools who have now reported on their pay figures only 11 pay women more than men. And of the 100 companies with the biggest pay gap across England, Wales and Scotland that have reported on…
Legal Article
23/03/18
Q. Is it possible to employ agency teachers to cover teaching staff who are going on strike? A. It is not lawful to supply agency workers to perform the duties normally performed by an employee who is taking part in a strike. Regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment…
Legal Article
23/03/18
In the recent case of Brazel v The Harpur Trust , the EAT upheld a music teacher's appeal challenging the approach taken to calculate her holiday pay. Mrs Brazel worked at the Trust as a music teacher in term-time on a zero-hours contract. She was entitled to 5.6…
Legal Article
16/03/18
Yes, held the Supreme Court in Reilly v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council. Facts Ms Reilly, the head teacher of a primary school, was in a close (but not romantic) relationship with a man convicted of making indecent images of children. Whilst Ms Reilly did not live with the man,…
Legal Article
13/03/18
It would be difficult to miss the media coverage of university staff at over 60 universities striking over proposed pension changes. Universities UK want to change the Universities Superannuation Scheme from a defined benefit scheme (which would provide a guaranteed retirement income) to a defined…
Legal Article
28/02/18
Head teachers in England have called for a fairer framework addressing the pay levels of all school staff to prevent "fat cat" pay gaps. This follows the revelation earlier this month that the Chief Executive of the Harris Foundation, Sir Dan Moynihan, had become the first in the state sector…
Legal Article
16/02/18
Q. Can a fixed term contract (FTC) be brought to an end before its expiry? Does a fixed term worker have the same rights? A. It is commonly mistaken that a Fixed Term Worker does not share the same rights as a permanent employee. Under the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable…
Legal Article
16/02/18
In a recent Court of Appeal case ( Simon Agreyo v London Borough of Lambeth (Appeal)) the court concluded that suspension should not be a ' knee-jerk' reaction and that alternative options that would be reasonable should be taken into consideration. This case has followed on from similar case…
Legal Article
16/02/18
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) recently determined that it is unlawful for an employer to reject a potential candidate because they believe that a current health condition may become a disability in the future in the case of Chief Constable of Norfolk v Coffey. In this case the Claimant was a…
