Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Marital Status Discrimination
Marital Status Discrimination Bacon v Advanced Fire Solutions Ltd and Ellis: Less favourable treatment after announcing divorce was marital status discrimination Mrs Bacon’s husband joined the organisation after Mrs Bacon, but both went on to take up Director roles. In 2017, Mrs Bacon informed Mr Bacon of her wish to separate however wanted to continue […]
Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Unfair Dismissal
Unfair Dismissal Chemcem Scotland Ltd v Ure: Unfair Dismissal? This is a case looking at whether an employee’s failure to return to work after maternity leave was a constructive unfair dismissal following repudiatory acts. In constructive dismissal claims, a contract is not automatically terminated by an employer’s repudiatory breach. For the contract to be terminated […]
Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Religious belief discrimination
Religious Belief Discrimination Mrs. K Higgs vs Farmor’s School: Employer successfully defends Religious Belief Discrimination claim Mrs. K Higgs, employed in a school, was dismissed for having posted on her private Facebook account, her own views criticizing the teaching of LGBT relationships in primary schools. The school had been made aware of her posts by […]
Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy Discrimination Ms K Wright vs Coupland Cavendish Ltd Ms K Wright was employed as an administrator and was dismissed after one week of employment because she suffered from pregnancy related hyperemesis, causing nausea, and vomiting. This led to her having two separate days off sick. The reason for the dismissal given by Coupland Cavendish […]
Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Disability Discrimination – Record £4.7m to bank worker bullied over disability
Disability Discrimination Record £4.7m to bank worker bullied over disability In Royal Bank of Scotland plc v AB a bank worker has been successful in bringing a disability discrimination claim by being awarded more than £4.7 million after being made to feel “worthless” and “unsupported” by her colleagues and subjected to bullying throughout her 6 […]
Employment Tribunal 2020 Case Ruling – Disability Discrimination – Unfair Dismissal and Disability
Unfair Dismissal and Disability Miss S J Austin vs The Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust A hospital secretary has been found to have been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against on the grounds of disability for repeatedly checking her own medical record. The tribunal found that the Hospital Trust did not take account of the fact […]
Case Law Update: Collective Redundancy Consultation
Deciding the Threshold for When Collective Consultation is Triggered This case law update provides a digestible account of a recent Employment Tribunal outcome. We take a look at the background details on the case, the rationale behind the judgements and takeaway learning points. Case UQ v Marclean Technologies SLU looks at when the threshold exists for when […]
The worldwide economic impact of COVID-19
The economic impact of the coronavirus continues to be felt by industries, businesses and employees across the world. Firms face navigating the complexities of keeping customers, employees and suppliers safe; shoring-up cash and liquidity; re-orientating operations and navigating the various government funding programmes that are available. Ten months of COVID-19 It’s been ten months since […]
Government announces ‘Office for Talent’ to improve scientist immigration experience
The government plans to create a new cross-departmental ‘Office for Talent’ to help leading researchers and scientists to live and work in the UK post-Brexit. Its UK Research and Development Roadmap builds on a budget previously announced in March, that will prioritise ground-breaking research, attract global talent and cut any unnecessary red tape. The aim […]
Protected conversation and ‘without prejudice’ conversation, what’s the difference?
Within HR a ‘protected conversation’ is not the same as a ‘without prejudice’ conversation. However, both of these types of conversations allow employers to enter into off-the record conversations with a view to agreeing an exit with the employee. So, what is the difference between a protected conversation and a ‘without prejudice’ conversation? A protected […]
Furlough Scheme Updates and Implications – June 2020
Coronavirus: What’s next? Flexible Furlough [ Including: 12 June 2020 Update ] Following the Chancellor’s announcement on Friday 29th May and subsequent update of the 12 June 2020, the Chancellor has confirmed the following updates to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) – Furlough Scheme: The scheme would remain open until October Furloughed employees will still receive 80% of their […]
HR challenges and opportunities for SMEs
The 5.9 million small to medium sized enterprises (SME) in the UK, face challenges including managing cash flow, generating new business, creating an effective marketing strategy and effectively managing HR issues. Current concerns about the Brexit transition, a national skills shortage and uncertainty over employee status are all added pressures for small business owners and […]
Absence Management Strategy: A Focus on Mental Health
Balancing both compliance with employment law, and effective absence management at work can be a minefield for managers. Absence and employee mental health With the number of reported mental health problems increasing year on year it’s vital for businesses to consider employee mental health in the same bracket as employee physical health. This includes removing […]
UK businesses lose £195 million on job-hopping workers
Half of British workers are looking to change jobs in the next year, leading to employers finding themselves significantly out of pocket as they face the reality of managing an unproductive workforce. Research by UK job board Totaljobs and employer brand specialists Universum has revealed that the cost to businesses of workers hunting for new […]
Employment tribunal awards 2019
In an employment tribunal case, a Claimant (i.e. employee or worker) is the person who brings the claim against the Respondent (the individual or organisation responding to the claim i.e. the employer). If the Claimant is successful in his or her claim, the Employment Judge has the power to make a financial award to the […]
Personal relationships at work
Personal relationships at work which may affect employers can include those between spouses, civil partners, common-law partners, family members (fathers, sons, sisters, brothers) and others. The type of relationship can include very close friendships, sexual relationships, close family members and commercial relationships. Many organisations employ staff with family connections. Also, as we spend more time […]
Case Law: Mulberry wins discrimination claim
Mulberry wins discrimination claim as copyright protection is found not to be a philosophical belief Gray v Mulberry (EWCA) The employee was a Marketing Support Assistant for Mulberry, the luxury goods company. In this role she had access to Mulberry’s designs before they were launched. She signed an employment contract but refused to sign an additional […]
Brexit HR and Employment Law – Where Are We Now?!
31 October 2019: Brexit Day? It’s October 2019 and Brexit is still in progress. On the 10 April 2019, at a meeting of the European Council, the UK and EU27 agreed to extend Article 50 until 31 October 2019. The House Of Commons briefing paper ‘Brexit Timeline: events leading to the UK’s exit from […]
Voluntary overtime and holiday pay calculations
Regular voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay calculations. In the case ‘East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust v Flowers EWCA’, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision that for the purposes of calculating holiday pay, under the Working Time Directive (WTD), voluntary overtime pay should have been taken into account. The Working […]
Could employers be fined for unfair or sexist dress codes?
Flip flops or no flip flops?! Do you think shorts and flip flops are acceptable to wear in the office during hot weather? In a recent radio interview, with BBC Radio Northampton, our HR Knowledge Manager discussed whether it is ever OK to wear flipflops at work. Click on the play icon below to listen […]
