New European data protection package agreed
A new European data protection reform package has been agreed and is likely to come into force in 2018.
January 22, 2016 No Comments
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Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to sickness absence policies
Employers are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to the way in which they apply their sickness absence policies.
January 19, 2016 No Comments
Instruction not to speak native language at work was not discriminatory
It is not discriminatory on grounds of race for an employer to ask its employees not to speak their native language at work in circumstances where there are legitimate security concerns.
January 19, 2016 No Comments
Grant of smaller than expected bonus was not breach of contract
An employer was not in breach of contract for paying an employee a discretionary bonus of 1% of profits in circumstances where the employee claimed to have been told that 5% would be the minimum.
January 19, 2016 No Comments
Negative reference can be discriminatory regardless of referee’s motive
The EAT has found that it is not necessary to show a referee’s motive when bringing a disability discrimination claim following a negative reference, which is based partly on an individual’s frequent absences.
January 19, 2016 No Comments
Caste discrimination claim succeeds
A case brought by a former domestic servant against her employers has established for the first time that a person may be treated as discriminated against on grounds of race where the derogatory treatment is connected to their caste status.
December 11, 2015 No Comments
Penalty clauses redefined
Many employment contracts and settlement agreements contain clauses suggesting dire consequences if they are breached. When relied upon, employees often argue that they are “penalty clauses” and therefore void. Faced with two contrasting cases on the nature of a penalty clause, the Supreme Court has provided a new test to identify those clauses which are unenforceable as penalties.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
Who counts as ‘redundant’ for the purposes of collective consultation?
Where an employer in the UK proposes to dismiss more than 20 employees at one establishment in a period of 90 days, they must consult on a collective basis. If an employee resigns in response to a substantial change to their working conditions, they can be counted towards the 20-person threshold.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
Increase to part-time hours means recalculation of holiday
When a part-time worker increases their hours, their statutory annual leave entitlement should be recalculated going forward.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
Draft regulations on public sector exit pay cap published
The government has published draft regulations for its plans to introduce a cap on public sector exit payments.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
Does disparate treatment render dismissal unfair?
An employee’s dismissal will not be unfair by reason of a colleague being given disparate treatment if the two employees’ circumstances are not truly parallel.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
Davies Report on women on boards is published
Lord Davies’ final report on women on boards shows an increase in the number of women holding board-level positions but makes a number of recommendations for improvement.
December 3, 2015 No Comments
