Legal Article
28/12/18
Hein v Albert Holzkamm GmbH related to a construction worker in Germany working under a collective agreement providing that holiday pay would be paid on the basis of a 13-week average calculation in accordance with national law in Germany. After a 26-week lay-off, his holiday pay was calculated on…
Legal Article
27/12/18
The EAT in Stefanko and others v Maritime Hotel Ltd held that an employee is entitled to a statement of particulars of employment even if they have worked for less than two months, provided they have completed one month of continuous employment. Section 1(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 sets…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
21/12/18
The government has published proposed legislative changes to employment law in its "Good Work Plan" (the 'Plan'). The Plan was published in response to the review of modern working practices conducted by Matthew Taylor, the Taylor Review, and accepts changes implementing 51 out of the…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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 &…
Forbes News
09/11/18
Forbes Solicitors have advised West Lancashire-based independent financial adviser Acumen Financial Partnership over the acquisition of Wyre Investment and Financial Management based in Pilling. The deal was completed with the help of Rebecca McCann, a Solicitor in Forbes'…
Forbes News
06/11/18
Forbes Solicitors has expanded its Employment Team with the appointment of three solicitors and two paralegals. Abigail Mottram, Trishna Modessa, Yara Cherbetji, Charlotte Black and Jason Landa, add expertise in a number of areas and have begun working with a wide range of clients in both the…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
25/10/18
Following on from the Gender Pay Gap Reporting requirement, the Government launched a consultation into Ethnicity Pay Reporting earlier this month. The Consultation is currently underway, and responses are required by 11 January 2019. The issue of ethnicity pay disparity has been on the government…
Legal Article
25/10/18
Yes, you could be! Last week in the case of Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Ltd , the Court of Appeal found that the company was liable for an incident that happened after a work event had finished. This case is particularly important now in the run up to Christmas (it's never too early to…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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…
Forbes News
16/10/18
An Employment Law & HR solution offered by Forbes Solicitors has been expanded to include a wide range of new complimentary services in a convenient "one-stop-shop" for clients. HR Complete is a bespoke insurance-backed service which launched two years ago to help SMEs get the most…
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
27/07/18
The Employment Tribunal (ET) is an independent judicial body established to resolve disputes between employers and employees in relation to employment rights. The ET will hear claims about employment matters; such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages and redundancy payments for example. There…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
26/07/18
Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake The Court of Appeal ruled on Friday 13 th July 2018 that periods of 'sleeping in' are to be treated as being available to work, opposed to 'actually working' and therefore do not constitute 'working' for the purposes of National Minimum Wage (…
Forbes News
26/07/18
A night of pampering and beauty treatments organised by Forbes Solicitors has raised £428 for Lancashire cancer charity CARES. The event, at the firm's Oak House office in Walton Summit, included demonstrations as well as canapés and prosecco for the 40 women who attended. The…
Legal Article
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&…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
17/07/18
Earlier this year, the Government launched an innovative £1.5 million 'Share the Joy' campaign to encourage more parents, via advertising, to take up the offer of Shared Parental Leave in their baby's first year. Research from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
30/04/18
In Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood, the Supreme Court held that in the absence of an express contractual provision, a written notice of termination served by an employer does not take effect until the employee has read it or had a reasonable opportunity of doing so. On…
Legal Article
19/04/18
In its March report, 'Turning the tables: Ending sexual harassment at work', the Equality and Human Rights Commission ("the Commission") summarised its findings and detailed its recommendations for employers following an investigation into sexual harassment in the workplace. The…
Legal Article
10/04/18
Ms Gomes worked for a company providing accommodation and support services for vulnerable young people. She brought a claim for compensation before the Employment Tribunal for failure to allow her rest breaks. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/1833) ("WTR"), workers are entitled…
Legal Article
04/04/18
In the recent case of Pemberton v Inwood [2018] EWCA Civ 564, the Court of Appeal held that a Church of England priest was not subjected to unlawful sexual orientation discrimination when he was refused a ministry licence on the ground of his same-sex marriage. The Claimant, Canon Pemberton,…
Legal Article
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…
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
23/03/18
In the recent case of Sunuva Ltd v Martin , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld an Employment Tribunal cost award to a claimant in respect of costs incurred before receipt of the ET3 on the grounds that the response had no reasonable prospect of success. The claimant, Martin, was an…
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
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')…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
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…
Legal Article
26/01/18
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, the claimant (C), a Police…
Legal Article
12/01/18
The immediate answer in almost every organisation would be yes. S15 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 makes it unlawful for an employer to employ an adult who is subject to immigration control. The penalties include civil and criminal sanctions even if the employer knew or had…
Legal Article
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…
