£3.2 Million Awarded for Workplace Harassment
A former banker at the London office of a major Russian bank has won significant damages at an Employment Tribunal following ongoing discrimination and harassment in her role. Svetlana Lokhova worked for Sberbank CIB (UK) Ltd until she resigned claiming constructive dismissal in 2012. Ms Lokhova, a Cambridge graduate, joined the bank in 2008. […]
ECJ Rules on Holiday Pay & Commission Case
The Employment Tribunal in the case of Lock v British Gas ruled that any employee who receives commission should receive varied holiday pay to reflect their normal income. Mr Lock was a salesman for British Gas on a basic salary with variable commission paid in arrears. His commission depended upon sales achieved and could not […]
“Don’t Come Back on Monday” is an Unfair Dismissal
A recent Employment Tribunal has shown how important it is to follow procedure when carrying out a dismissal. Mr Townsend was a driver for Commercial Storage Ltd, a small family business run by Mr Cooke. Mr Cooke called Mr Townsend into work during his annual leave to set up a new truck, which Mr Townsend […]
Unison Given Go-Ahead to Appeal Tribunal Fees
The Supreme Court has allowed Unison to appeal the Court of Appeal’s recent ruling on Employment Tribunal fees. The announcement, made on the 26th February, relates to Unison’s third challenge of the tribunal fees system. The Court of Appeal rejected this challenge last September. Tribunal fees have been controversial since their introduction by the Coalition […]
Commission Must Be Included in Holiday Pay
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that an employee’s average commission must be included in their holiday pay. The judgement, published Monday (22nd February), set out how the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s ruling will apply in the UK. This is another step in the long-running case of Lock v British Gas, which was […]
Caste Discrimination Covered Under Equality Act 2010
A former domestic servant has won £184,000 in unpaid wages following the UK’s first claim for caste discrimination. Ms Tirkey worked as a domestic servant for a Mr and Mrs Chandok, first in India and then again in the UK. Ms Tirkey is of Adivasi origin, which some in India consider to be low caste. […]
Inquiry Launched into Court Fees
The Commons Select Justice Committee has launched an inquiry into whether or not the introduction of court and tribunal fees has affected the public’s access to justice. The Select Committee is made up of 11 cross-party MPs who will be tasked with assessing the overall impact of court fees. A separate review of Employment Tribunal […]
Tribunal Fees Under Criticism
Legal experts and union leaders have called for a review of the Employment Tribunal process following the release of new Ministry of Justice figures. The number of single Employment Tribunal claims has fallen by 70 percent in the year since July 2013, when fees for raising a Tribunal claim were first introduced. “This is the […]
Zero Hours Contracts Bill 2014
The Zero Hours Contracts Bill will prohibit the use of zero hours employment contracts, particularly those requiring workers to be available for work but where there is no guarantee of work available. The Office of National Statistics estimates at least 200,000 people are employed on zero hours contracts in the UK, of which 75,000 are […]
Employment Tribunal Costs Unlawful?
Was the introduction of fees for Claimants to bring a claim to an Employment Tribunal unlawful? Not according to the High Court. Under new rules introduced in July 2013, workers in the UK are now charged a fee to bring a claim to an employment tribunal, a further fee if the claim is heard and […]
Employment Tribunals – Who Pays?
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has recently published a study on the ‘Payment of Tribunal Awards’ (Making the Labour Market more Flexible, Efficient and Fair). The report summarises the findings of a study of people who made successful claims to an Employment Tribunal and were awarded a sum of money by the […]