Age discrimination and redundancies: will the pale, stale male be targeted in the economic downturn? - 6th Oct, 2008
It may have happened to Selina Scott, so why should the pale, stale male be immune?
The lovely fifty-something Selina has reportedly been passed over by Channel Five News as maternity cover for a newsreading slot and a younger model, or model...
T is for taxing termination payments - 15th Sep, 2008
T is for taxing termination payments
Payments on termination – GeneralWhen a payment is made to an employee on the termination of their employment it is important to assess the basis on which the payment is made in order to determine the corre...
Tiers of frustration? a look at some of the proposed changes to UK immigration law - 6th Jun, 2008
Matthew Davies of Fox Williams LLP considers the new landscape employers and employees will face as the Points Based System for UK immigration is rolled out.
Following a carefully managed media campaign heralding an “Australian style” Poin...
S is for Sickness Absence – Part 2…Pay during sickness absence - 29th Apr, 2008
There are two separate elements of pay that apply for periods of sickness absence:
Provisions for sick pay in contracts of employment or in the company’s employee handbook/procedure documents; and
Statutory sick pay provisions.
Contractual ...
S is for Sickness Absence – Part 1… - 11th Feb, 2008
According to the 2007 Absence Management Annual Survey Report of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), the average level of employee absence in a year is 3.7% of working time (i.e., 8.4 days per employee per year).
The ...
'R' is for Redundancy - 10th Jan, 2008
What is Redundancy?
Redundancy is a potentially fair reason for dismissal. Broadly, a genuine redundancy situation arises in one of the following circumstances:
(a) ...
‘Q’ is for Questionnaires - 3rd Dec, 2007
When an employee fears that he may have been discriminated against by his employer, proving this can be an extremely daunting prospect: realistically, what employer will readily admit to discrimination when challenged?. The employee will have t...
"P" is for Part-time workers - 18th Jul, 2007
The Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (the “PTW Regulations”) were introduced to help protect part-time workers who are considered to be more likely to be the subject of detrimental action and inac...
‘O’ is for Outsourcing - 25th Jun, 2007
What is outsourcing?
This is where a company arranges for a separate third party to undertake a service which, until then, the company has undertaken itself i.e. Company A has historically managed and run its own payroll but decides to outsource thi...
‘N’ is for Notice Periods - 29th May, 2007
Rights to Notice
The Employment Rights Act 1996 gives both employers and employees the statutory right to a minimum period of notice of termination of employment, as long as the employee has been employed for one month or more.
A notice peri...
‘M’ is for Maternity - 23rd Mar, 2007
At present there are two sets of rights for pregnant employees, one for those whose babies are due on or before 31 March 2007 and another for those whose babies are due on or after 01 April 2007. This dual system has come about because of a rec...
‘L’ is for… Love Contracts - 16th Feb, 2007
What is a Love Contract?
In the United States, “love contracts” are used to protect employers should love arise between two of their workers. They take the form of agreements between the amorous couple and the employer which confirm ...
‘K’ is for Kids - 18th Jan, 2007
Over recent years, the Government has put in place various ‘family friendly’ legislation in an attempt to promote work/life balance and in recognition of the fact that parents frequently are required to juggle their work commitments with th...
“J” is for Jail - 8th Dec, 2006
Sometimes applicants for jobs conceal the fact that they have criminal convictions and other times, employees commit criminal offences (whether in the course of their work or not). What can an employer do in these situations? Here is a rundown ...
I is for Information and Consultation - 23rd Nov, 2006
The Information and Consultation Regulations 2004 originate from an EU directive which establishes a general framework for information and consultation in the workplace. The Regulations give employees in larger businesses (with 50 or more emplo...
H is for Holidays - 24th Oct, 2006
Although when you are lying on the beach, the distinction will feel irrelevant, holidays divide generally into two categories in law: contractual and statutory. The Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR 1998”) sets down the minimum annu...
'G' is for Gay Discrimination - 26th Sep, 2006
Official Whitehall figures released in December 2005 say that 6% of the UK adult population, or about 3 million people, are lesbian, gay or bisexual. A recent survey has found that whilst many homosexuals and bisexuals are open about their sexu...
‘F’ is for @$%@!!!” (abusive language in the workplace) - 6th Sep, 2006
The use of foul and abusive language should be a serious concern for any employer. The danger of having a bad language culture is the creation of a hostile and intimidating environment which may give rise to claims for bullying and harassment. ...
Takacs – Potential New law could be a real bonus for employees. Can employers sack employees to avoid paying bonuses? - 21st Aug, 2006
WENDI S. LAZAR is of counsel to Outten & Golden LLP, a New York and Connecticut Firm. She has been practising international employment and immigration law for over 12 years with a focus on executive compensation, noncompetition and severance agre...
D Is For Disability Discrimination - 2nd Aug, 2006
The Basics of Disability Discrimination
What is a disability?
Employment law imposes a special test. If someone has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-d...
Does confidential information stay confidential when an employee leaves the company? - 14th Jul, 2006
During employment an employee owes his employer a strict duty of maintain the secrecy of the employer’s confidential information. Once the employment has terminated the employer’s confidential information may still be protected by the impli...
B is for Bonuses - 28th Jun, 2006
Bonus claims often form a substantial part of compensation claims made by employees, particularly on termination of employment where an employee may feel aggrieved that they have been dismissed shortly before they were expecting to receive a bonus pa...
‘A’ is for Age Discrimination - 16th Jun, 2006
From 1 October 2006, employers face a major departure from current employment practice. This is the date on which the Age Discrimination Regulations allowing employees to claim discrimination on the grounds of their age will come into force.&nb...
Part-time Workers’ Fire Still Burning - Matthews v Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority - 31st May, 2006
The Part-time Workers’ Regulations 2000 came into force on 1 July 2000. So far there have been a limited number of claims brought under the Regulations. By far the most high profile of these is the case of Matthews v Kent & Medwa...
You can’t sack me! Injunctions and Frustration in employment disputes - 8th May, 2006
Employers who regularly deal with difficult employment cases may have come across the argument from a clued-up employee that he can take an injunction out against the employer to prevent the employer from disciplining or dismissing him. Usually...
What a performance! Managing capability in light of the statutory procedures - 10th Apr, 2006
The statutory dispute resolution procedures have now been in place for nearly 18 months. Whilst the main aim of the procedures (which were introduced by the Employment Act 2002) was to reduce the number of claims that went to the employment tri...
Crucifixes banned on BMI Saudi flights - 1st Mar, 2006
Recent media attention has focused on the airline BMI’s ban on its flight crew wearing crucifixes or St. Christopher medals on flights to Saudi Arabia to avoid offending Muslim passengers. Is such a practice lawful?
It would be interestin...
First among equals - the rise of the least understood Tribunal claim - 13th Feb, 2006
Thirty years after the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act and sex discrimination at work is as controversial a topic as ever. The beginning of 2006 saw a flurry of press comment concerning the treatment of men and women in the workplace...
“Pink Weddings” : what will change in the workplace once the knot has been tied? - 31st Jan, 2006
With Elton and David leading the way down the aisle amid a media frenzy, hundreds of couples are reported to have followed suit. Civil partnerships or “gay weddings” became lawful in the UK on 21 December 2005. Under the new law...
Perkin v. St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust (“the Trust”) - 19th Jan, 2006
Headnote
An employee may be dismissed on the grounds of his personality, even if there are no issues regarding his technical competence or honest, if it manifests itself in such a way that it damages the employer’s trust and confidence in him....
Personality clash of the Titans – a victory for employers? - 15th Jan, 2006
Perkin v. St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust (“the Trust”)
SummaryAn employee may be dismissed on the grounds of his personality, even if there are no issues regarding his technical competence or honesty, if it manifests itself in such ...
Senior employees: a directorial debut? - 9th Dec, 2005
As the recent Equitable Life litigation shows, company directors, who are placed in a position of trust and relied upon by both company and shareholders to behave correctly, often find themselves the target of criticism and even legal action for alle...
Is there no smoke without being fired…? - 23rd Nov, 2005
With the introduction of the controversial ban on smoking at work next year, should you be taking action now to ensure that you are not about to be the butt of jokes in the Tribunal? Should you be re-examining the effect of smoking on your workforce?...
Proposed new paternity rights - Who's left holding the baby? - 11th Nov, 2005
The government has just announced its new family friendly proposals, following extensive consultation. They will appear in the Work and Families Bill. The new / changed laws will be introduced in April 2007. The proposal includes extending Statutory ...
A difficult coming of age: what will be the true effect of the new Regulations? - 24th Oct, 2005
In October 2006, legislation will be introduced which outlaws age discrimination in employment and vocational training. The impact of the age discrimination regulations is likely to far reaching, particularly as they will affect all ages, young and o...
"I’ve been discriminated against because of my height.” A tall tale? - 4th Oct, 2005
The primary purpose of our sex discrimination legislation is to prevent a man or a woman being treated less favourably on the grounds of his or her sex – i.e. because he or she is a man or a woman. However, increasingly, we are seeing claimants ...
“Come on boss, it’s the Ashes!”: being a good sport about absence? - 21st Sep, 2005
We have had some fantastic summers of sport over the last few years what with ‘Team GB’ doing phenomenally well at the Olympics, the tennis (come on Tim!) and obviously the cricket. There has been immense interest in work places across the ...
Domestic emergencies! Are you a rock or a hard place? - 6th Sep, 2005
There are few certainties in life:- taxes, death and the fact that your domestic appliances will wait until the most inconvenient time for you before exploding/leaking/giving up the ghost. Whilst moving house and changing jobs may be two of the most ...
Smile for the camera. Will covert recordings be admissible evidence in Tribunal proceedings? - 16th Aug, 2005
Employer’s need to know what is going on and the ability to gather evidence is crucial, particularly where there are concerns as to whether an employee is fulfilling his duties properly or there is a suspicion that an employee is falsely absent ...
The Sexual Orientation Regulations: limp wristed or pink power? - 20th Jun, 2005
The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 (“the Regulations”), which came into force in December 2003, made it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a worker because of his/her sexuality. The lack of reported ...
Court of Appeal juggles with jurisdictional issues - Saggar v. Ministry of Defence - 8th Jun, 2005
SummaryThe Court of Appeal concludes that a person who has not worked in the UK for 7 years can still bring a race discrimination claim here if he worked in the UK for the same employer before he left.FactsLieutenant Colonel Saggar was an Army Office...
European Parliament approves end to UK working time opt-out - 24th May, 2005
The European Parliament has approved proposed amendments to the Working Time Directive which would remove the UK's right to opt out of maximum limits on the working week. At present, UK workers may agree to waive their right to a 48-hour weekly limit...
Bullying by Proxy: vicarious liability in the employment relationship - 9th May, 2005
There has been a spate of recent cases dealing with bullying in the workplace or even, in one case, of a manager kidnapping and torturing an employee. Where does the employer’s liability start and end on such cases? A core part of the employment...
Worth their wait in gold? New draft TUPE regulations are finally published - 20th Apr, 2005
Last month saw the publication of the long-awaited revised draft TUPE Regulations. Readers who routinely deal with TUPE may feel that it is an area of law fraught with complexity and uncertainties. They are not alone: in one recent decision, the judg...
The dawning of a new ICE age? Information and Consultation with Employees - The final countdown… - 6th Apr, 2005
The new information and consultation regulations have been viewed by many with scepticism. Whilst the new regulations aim at improving dialogue between management and employees to help create “high performance work places”, many employers s...
Victimisation - Villalba takes Merrill Lynch to the EAT - 8th Mar, 2005
A few weeks ago, Stephanie Villalba’s lawyers submitted a detailed appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal on a number of grounds. Although Ms Villalba was successful in her unfair dismissal claim and a discrete aspect of her victimisation clai...
Think Pink! – the first successful case under the new sexual orientation legislation - 15th Feb, 2005
Whilst it is not always possible to know, as most cases are settled and those that fight are not always reported, it appears that an employee has recently brought the first successful case under the new Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regula...
Answers to the hrlaw Bumper Christmas Quiz 2004 - 25th Jan, 2005
Thank you to all of our readers who took part in the 2004 Christmas Quiz. Our congratulations go to Rhona Morrison at AEGON UK plc who was drawn at random from all those entrants who scored 20 or more correct answers. Well done Rhona!!Q1: Can a whist...
Know your limitations – Employees may now have more time in which to bring a claim… - 13th Jan, 2005
As readers will be aware, the statutory disciplinary and grievance procedures came into force on 1 October 2004 in accordance with the Employment Act (Dispute Resolution) Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”). Much has been made in the press...
Can there be such a thing as too much time off for dependants? - 30th Nov, 2004
Time off for dependants is one of a number of statutory rights afforded to employees. A recent case, Forster v Cartwright Black Solicitors, examined the scope of this right and the question of how much flexibility an employer has to limit the length ...
Gearing up to answer the Age Old Question….. - 16th Nov, 2004
Over the last twenty years or so, age discrimination in the workplace has been a maturing problem. The common perception is that age discrimination is an issue which disadvantages the older employee or applicant more than it does the younger one. Lon...
The Verdict on the New Jury Service Rules - 1st Nov, 2004
Most readers will probably know someone who has been excused from jury service or who has had their jury service postponed. The categories of persons who used to have the right to be excused from jury service was fairly broad. The ease with which peo...
Blowing the Whistle on Public Interest Disclosures made for Personal Gain - 18th Oct, 2004
Street v. Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ CentreMrs Street was employed as an administrator of Derbyshire Unemployed Workers’ Centre (“the Centre”). There were 6 other paid employees of the Centre including Colin Hampton, the co-or...
Defending Tribunal Claims – The New Rules - 27th Sep, 2004
New employment tribunal rules come into force on 1 October 2004. These make significant changes to the procedure for bringing and defending claims. There are two key dates to remember: On 1 October 2004 the majority of changes become operative. On 5 ...
Statutory Disciplinary Procedures – Are you ready? - 20th Sep, 2004
Most employers have heard about the new statutory dismissal and grievance procedures, but how may can honestly say they know what is involved and what the impact is for their organisation? The procedures come into force on 1 October 2004 and as no em...
Discrimination in the City survey - the results - 6th Sep, 2004
A few weeks ago, hrlaw (in conjunction with The Times) asked you for your views on whether the rumours and recent press headlines about discrimination in the City are true? Does discrimination continue to be rife or have just a handful of cases been ...
To be an employee or a commercial agent, that is the question - 10th Aug, 2004
Whilst workers may be able to decide easily whether employment or agency suits them best, the English courts and Employment Tribunals have often experienced difficulties in determining which of these two working arrangements applies. A number of test...
Are injunctions against former employees a one-stop shop? - 26th Jul, 2004
Injunctions are a discretionary remedy that may be awarded in addition to, or instead of, damages. The essence of an injunction is to enforce obligations that a party is required to abide by. These obligations may arise either under contract, or unde...