Sunday Working – Religious Discrimination
Devotees of Sabbatarianism may be disappointed by the very recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Mba v Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Merton [2013]. The Court of Appeal held that it was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim for a local authority to require a committed Christian who […]
An Established Point of Law?
USDAWand others v WW Realisation 1 Ltd It has long been established that when employers are proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one ‘Establishment’ within a period of 90 days or less, that they are obliged to collectively consult. This imposes statutory obligations upon employers, as to the information to be […]
The Queen’s Speech 2013
The Queen’s Speech was delivered on 8 May 2013 and set out to the government’s plans to make changes which have implications for employment law. Among the plans are changes relating to National Insurance contributions, immigrant workers and the Employment Tribunal’s power to make wider recommendations in discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010. The […]
Terms and Conditions of Employment – TUPE Amendment Regulations
The Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (or TUPE for short) have been with us since 1981. They were amended in 2006 and the Government is making further changes which it has published this week. TUPE exists to ensure that the rights of employees are protected in the event of the sale of a business or in […]
Costs Awards in Employment Tribunals
Costs awards in Employment Tribunals remain the exception rather than the rule. However, a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment shows that even extremely high costs awards may be made in suitable cases. InVaughanv London Borough of Lewishama costs award of £87,000 against an unsuccessful Claimant was upheld even though the Claimant was unrepresented and there […]
Restrictive Covenants
We have seen a run of cases where the Courts have adopted a hard-line approach to the interpretation of restrictive covenants. The eagerly awaited Court of Appeal decision in Coppage & Another v Safety Net Security Limited handed down in October made surprising and some might say bad law. Mr Coppage was Business Development Director […]
Protected conversations – what does this change for employers?
In short, not a lot really until we find out how the courts explain how this works in practice. Prior to the introduction of protected conversations or pre-termination negotiations as they referred to in legislation, employers relied upon without prejudice conversations to talk to employees about terminating their employment. In simple terms, without prejudice means […]
Introduction of Employment Tribunal Fees
The new regime of charging fees in the Employment Tribunals is now in force. An employee wishing to bring a claim againsthis/her employer inan Employment Tribunal will now have to pay a fee unless he or she qualifies for the fee to be waived. How much will an employee have to pay? The amount of […]
TUPE changes
The draft TUPE amendment regulations have now been published due to be in force January 2014. This follows consultation this year by the Government on changes. This arose from concerns that the regulation caused difficulties for businesses in practice and went beyond the requirements of the European legislation, the Acquired Rights Directive. A number of […]
