Article Category: Employment Law & HR – Insight & Opinion

The number of people making claims for disability discrimination in the Employment Tribunal has soared by 37% compared to last year. With Employment Tribunal claims in general rising only 4% that means the number of disability discrimination claims has risen more than eight times faster than the growth of all tribunal claims. Why? What’s caused… Read more »

In a recent Court of Appeal case, an employee who worked as a cashier in a wine wholesale business for over 10 years was dismissed on the day the business was due to transfer to new ownership. The reason for dismissal, as stated in the dismissal letter, was that company was ceasing to trade due… Read more »

In the recent case of Hein v Holzkamm GmbH and Co KG, the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) indicated that voluntary overtime should not be factored into holiday pay. The ECJ stated ‘given its exceptional and unforeseeable nature, remuneration received for overtime does not, in principle, form part of remuneration’. This decision now casts doubt… Read more »

Sickness absence can be extremely expensive, potentially disruptive and can have a significant impact on the productivity and welfare of colleagues due to increased workloads. A good Occupational Health (“OH”) specialist can be the key for the effective absence management to the benefit of the employer and, often the employee. What should you expect from… Read more »

The recent Employment Tribunal case, Mrs N Town v The Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, has raised questions amongst employers on the effects of changing a person’s role when they are pregnant, ill or injured and how this might result in discrimination claims when decisions are not considered carefully or justified. The background… Read more »

In November 2016, the government launched a review of employment practices. The main purpose was to consider the implications of new models of working, including those used in the GIG economy, on the rights and responsibilities of workers, as well as on employer freedoms and obligations. For this, an independent review was undertaken and published… Read more »

Jess Varnish, winner of a gold medal at the 2011 European Championships, has lodged an appeal against her employment status loss at Manchester Employment Tribunal against British Cycling and UK Sport. What’s Varnish’s employment status? In December 2018, after several weeks of deliberation the Manchester Employment Tribunal ruled the former British cyclist was neither an… Read more »

A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is commonly used to protect confidential information being disclosed either publically or, in the commercial sense, to a competitor. They explain what information must remain confidential and under what, if any, circumstances the information can be used or disclosed. They can often be presented to employees at the start of their… Read more »

In short, no. In the UK, travel time to and from a worker’s home is excluded from ‘working time’ under the National Minimum Wage Regulations. However, in a case from 2015 the European Court of Justine (ECJ) decided that, where a worker has no fixed or habitual workplace, time spent travelling between their home and… Read more »

There has been a further decision in Uber’s ongoing battle regarding the status of its staff. Unsurprisingly, the Court of Appeal has held that Uber drivers are workers and have dismissed Uber’s appeal. This is now the third consecutive decision that has not been in Uber’s favour. The outcome of this ongoing legal process is… Read more »