Article Category: Employment Law & HR – Insight & Opinion

An employee accrues continuous service for each year they work for an employer. This provides the employee with certain statutory rights, for example, the right to claim unfair dismissal after 2 years. When a person moves from one employer to the next, those years of accrued continuous service do not move with them and the… Read more »

With a higher number of new cases of the Coronavirus now reported outside of China than within, there is an increased risk that an employee might have been to an area affected by the Coronavirus. This can potentially cause confusion for employers. To provide guidance, we have looked at three main questions below. Should I… Read more »

From 6 April 2020, the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018 will come into force which means that parents who suffer the loss of a child under the age of 18, or have a stillbirth from the 24th week of pregnancy, will be entitled to two weeks’ statutory parental bereavement leave (“SPBL”). The right… Read more »

This question regarding vegan employees has been asked many times by employer clients in response to the recent case of Casamitjana v League Against Cruel Sports and it is certainly an interesting subject. In this case, the Claimant, Mr Jordi Casamitjana, alleged that he was dismissed from employment on account of his “ethical” veganism and… Read more »

A recruitment agency has taken the revolutionary measure of rewarding employees with four extra days of annual leave, for not smoking at work. Managing Director, Don Bryden of KCJ Training and Employment Solutions in Swindon, has introduced the measure despite being a smoker himself. He states “If you say it’s three 10-minute smoke breaks a… Read more »

Ms Ahmed brought a claim under s.69 of the Equality Act 2010 after she found out that she was paid £440 per episode of Newswatch and Jeremy Vine was paid £3,000 per episode of Points of View. She argued that they were like work and therefore the only reason for the difference in pay could… Read more »

In short, no. This stems from the case of Ms. H Munro v Sampson Coward LLP where the Employment Tribunal had to consider whether comments regarding Ms Munro’s 50th birthday amounted to age discrimination and harassment. Ms Munro also claimed that she suffered a detriment and was dismissed on the grounds of whistle-blowing. In relation… Read more »

Mr Steve Easterbrook, the now former Chief Executive of McDonald’s, has mutually agreed for his employment to be terminated following a consensual relationship with another employee. This follows the resignation of Mr Brian Krzanich, former Chief Executive of Intel Corp, in June 2018 who resigned following a consensual relationship with another employee. These cases exemplify… Read more »

The employment tribunal are considering the case of Casamitjana v League Against Cruel Sports, where for the first time ethical veganism — the philosophical belief by an ‘ethical vegan’ — comes into question. Should it qualify for protection under the Equality Act 2010 and what does this mean for employers? Jordi Casamitjana is an ethical… Read more »

During a heated discussion, an employee told me he’d had enough and stormed out. The next day he confirmed that he didn’t mean to resign and wants to withdraw the resignation. Do we have to agree or can we just accept his resignation? The answer to this question will depend entirely on the circumstances. Notice… Read more »