Termination discussions: Termination discussion was not “without prejudice” By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that a termination discussion between an employer and an employee was not “without…
Restrictive covenants: 12 month non-compete covenant enforceable after words were severed from the covenant By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision that words in a non-compete covenant could be…
Voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting: Government guidance for employers issued - Financial Services By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller For the first time, the Government has issued guidance on ethnicity pay gap reporting, aiming to…
Positive action in the workplace: Government guidance published By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Government has published guidance to help employers navigate the complexities around lawful…
Whistleblowing: Government review of whistleblowing laws By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Government has launched a review of the UK’s current whistleblowing framework.
Voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting: Government guidance for employers issued By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller For the first time, the Government has issued guidance on ethnicity pay gap reporting, aiming to…
Private members’ bills progress through Parliament: The employment related Private - Commercial By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Members’ Bills we have been tracking are continuing to make their way through Parliament.
Private members’ bills progress through Parliament: The employment related Private By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Members’ Bills we have been tracking are continuing to make their way through Parliament.
Employment Matters - May 2023 - Independent Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In the past month the Government have issued two new pieces of guidance - on ethnicity pay gap…
Employment Matters - May 2023 - Public Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In the past month the Government have issued two new pieces of guidance - on ethnicity pay gap…
Employment Matters - May 2023 - Commercial By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In the past month the Government have issued two new pieces of guidance - on ethnicity pay gap…
Employment Matters - May 2023 - Financial Services By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In the past month the Government have issued two new pieces of guidance - on ethnicity pay gap…
Increases in rates and limits By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan Annual increases in employment related rates and limits will take effect this month.
Discrimination and whistleblowing detriment: Vento band increase By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The annual Vento band increases, which guide awards for injury to feelings in discrimination and…
Disability discrimination: An employee’s meltdowns and aggressive behaviour at work did not arise from his disabilities By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that an employee’s disabilities played no part in his…
Anti-competitive behaviour: Guidance issued By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The Competition and Markets Authority has issued guidance for employers on avoiding…
Employment Matters - April 2023 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Amanda McClimond, Every April sees an inflationary increase in statutory rates and limits…
Employment Matters - April 2023 - Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Amanda McClimond, Every April sees an inflationary increase in statutory rates and limits…
Data Protection: Scottish Courts consider interpretation of Schedule 2 of the DPA 2018 By Louise Gallagher, This recent decision of Courtney Timothy Riley v The Student Housing Company (ops) Limited saw the…
Employment tribunals: Tribunal erred in refusing to grant privacy order By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The Court of Appeal has held that an employment tribunal erred in refusing to grant an order to…
Unfair dismissal: “Without Prejudice” letter effectively dismissed employee and claim was out of time By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan An employee was effectively dismissed even though the letter purporting to dismiss him was marked…
Employment status: Tribunal erred in finding narrow substitution clause was a genuine substitution clause By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan In applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Uber BV and others v…
Indirect sex discrimination: Turning down a flexible working request disadvantaged a woman on maternity leave despite decision not being implemented By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that an employer’s decision to turn down a flexible working request was a…
Predictable working pattern requests: Government backs private members’ bill By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The Government has confirmed that it is backing a private members’ bill which will give workers…
Government backed private members’ bills: Update By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan In the last couple of years, the Government has shown a tendency to back private members’ bills…
Employment Matters - March 2023 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Clients often ask us about employment tribunal waiting times…
Fire and re-hire: Draft statutory code of practice published By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Government has published a draft Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement for…
Menopause: Government response to the “menopause and the workplace” report By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Government has published its response to the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on…
Unfair dismissal: Re-opening a disciplinary process that has already concluded By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that it was not unfair to dismiss an employee after…
Misuse of private information: Employer’s use of unlawfully obtained private Whatsapp messages By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The High Court has refused to strike out a claim for misuse of private information where an…
Disability discrimination: Dismissal of disabled employee on long term sickness absence By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has overturned a tribunal’s decision that it was discriminatory for an employer to have…
Discrimination: Marital status By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that a tribunal erred in finding that an employee had been subjected to direct…
Employment Matters – February 2023 By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller This month has seen a raft of government announcements…
Employment Matters - January 2023 - Commercial By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Our pick of the most interesting cases from the end of 2022 are covered in this alert…
Industrial action: Use of agency workers By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The High Court has granted permission for a judicial review of the legislation which allows agency…
Without prejudice: Settlement offer made at a grievance hearing was “without prejudice” By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal judgment that a settlement offer made at a grievance hearing should…
Redundancy: The importance of consultation By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has overturned an employment tribunal’s decision that an employee who was made redundant…
Settling claims: Wording of COT3 agreements By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has upheld an EAT decision that a claim of knowingly helping another to commit…
Tribunal awards: Mitigation of loss By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that an employment tribunal should have considered evidence before holding that a…
COVID-19: Dismissal of employee who stayed away from work during Covid-19 was not automatically unfair By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has upheld a tribunal decision that an employee was not automatically unfairly…
Employment tribunals: Statistics published By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Employment tribunal quarterly statistics for July to September 2022 show a decrease in claims…
Employment Matters - January 2023 - Public Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Our pick of the most interesting cases from the end of 2022 are covered in this alert…
Employment Matters - January 2023 - Independent Health By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Our pick of the most interesting cases from the end of 2022 are covered in this alert…
Employment Matters - January 2023 - Financial Services By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Our pick of the most interesting cases from the end of 2022 are covered in this alert…
Employment Matters - December 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller There have been fewer case law developments again this month, but legislative changes look set to…
Disability discrimination: No duty to make reasonable adjustments where an employee refused to participate in an interview for reasons unconnected to his disability By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that the duty to make reasonable adjustments did not arise where a disabled…
Increases in national living wage, national minimum wage, family leave rates and statutory sick leave By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Government has announced increases in the national minimum wage and the national living wage,…
Data protection: ICO publishes draft guidance on handling information about workers’ health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The ICO has published draft guidance on handling information about workers’ health which is open…
Industrial action: Legislation proposed to ensure minimum levels of service during transport strikes By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Government has proposed a bill which is intended to provide a framework to ensure that minimum…
Flexible working: Government responds to consultation on flexible working By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Government has confirmed that the right to request flexible working will be a day one right.
Employment Matters - November - NHS HEALTH By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month there has been a particularly interesting case looking at settling future claims in a…
Employment Matters - November 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month there has been a particularly interesting case looking at settling future claims in a…
Settlement agreements: Unknown future claims cannot be waived by settlement agreements By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Scottish EAT has held that settlement agreements cannot be used to settle unknown future…
Unfair dismissal: Internal appeals and vanishing dismissals By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The dismissal of an employee “vanished” as a result of her successful internal appeal, even though…
Disability discrimination: Dismissal of an employee whose autism influenced their conduct was neither unfair nor discriminatory By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that an employer’s dismissal of an autistic employee for…
Government backed future legislative change: The government has backed a number of Bills dealing with issues which have previously been consulted on By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller a…
NHS pensions: Mandated pensions recycling by 2023 By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The government has confirmed it will require NHS trusts to offer pensions recycling by 2023.
Disciplinary process: ACAS advice on suspending employees By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter In September, ACAS published advice on suspending staff…
TUPE: Transfer of rights under share plans By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that an employee’s rights to participate in a share incentive plan, which were…
Privilege: Draft investigation report did not become privileged retrospectively By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that the original version of an investigation report did not retrospectively…
Disability discrimination: Long Covid was not a disability By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller An employee who caught Covid-19 two and a half weeks before her dismissal did not have long Covid…
EAT deadlines: EAT extends deadline for appeal where the employer’s CEO was suffering from ADHD and depression By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has extended a deadline to appeal in circumstances where the CEO’s ADHD and depression were…
Workers’ rights: Government publishes bill which may result in overhaul of workers’ rights in the UK By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter In September, the government published the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill which could…
Interim damages - Change is necessary: Murphy v Dunbia (UK) t/a Highland Meats [2022] CSOH 65 By Rachel Rough This somewhat unusual decision follows the pursuer’s Motion for further interim damages in a…
Public sector exit payments: Consultation By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The government has launched a public consultation setting out proposals to introduce a new…
Employment Matters - September 2022 - Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller There have been fewer case developments over the summer, but there is still a number of…
Tribunal procedure: Merits of a case can be considered when assessing just and equitable extensions of time By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that an employment tribunal was entitled to consider the merits of a claim when…
Political beliefs: No automatic unfair dismissal, but belief in participatory democracy protected By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has considered the unfair dismissal and discrimination rights of an employee who claimed…
Anonymity order: Anonymity order awarded to protect the identity of a woman about whom a claimant had made lurid allegations By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has made an indefinite anonymity order to protect the identity of a young woman about whom…
Employment Matters - September 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller There have been fewer case developments over the summer, but there is still a number of…
Employment Matters - August 2022 FS + COMM By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller It’s been a busy month…
Employment Matters - August 2022 Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller It’s been a busy month…
Disability discrimination: Employee with long covid was disabled By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller An employment tribunal has held that an employee with symptoms of long covid was protected by…
Whistleblowing: Whistle-blowers’ conduct was separable from the act of whistleblowing so her dismissal was fair By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The Court of Appeal has upheld tribunal and EAT decisions that a whistle-blower who was dismissed…
Age discrimination: An employer did not subject an employee to age discrimination when his PHI benefits stopped when he was 65 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has upheld an employment tribunal judgment that an employer did not subject an employee to…
PHI: Unambiguous contractual wording needed to limit entitlement to that being provided by insurer By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that an employer was required to…
Legislative reform: Private members’ bill may move the dial on neonatal care By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter A Private Members’ Bill has been passed backing legislation which will give up to 12 weeks paid…
Blameworthiness or causative potency – which, if either, carries more weight when apportioning responsibility for injury? By , Rachel Rough Two recent decisions from Scotland look at apportionment between co-Defendants where there is a…
Industrial action: Repeal of laws preventing employers from hiring temporary workers during strike action By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The government has laid legislation before parliament to enable employment businesses to supply…
“Fire and Re-Hire” Draft code of practice By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Government has committed to publishing its draft statutory code of practice on “fire and…
Discrimination: Transgenderism and protection of religious beliefs By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that a Christian doctor’s beliefs around transgenderism are protected by…
Constructive Dismissal: Refusal to pay contractual sick pay was a fundamental breach of contract By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT held that an employer’s actions in withholding contractual sick pay where it believed that…
Compensation for discriminatory dismissals: EAT upholds 25% uplift on compensation By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision to award a 25% uplift to compensation for a discriminatory…
Covid-19 changes to terms and conditions guidance withdrawn By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller With effect from 7 July 2022 the DHSC has withdrawn certain changes to terms and conditions…
Employment Matters - June 2022 C + FS By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller There are fewer case law developments to report on from the past month…
Employment Matters - June 2022 HEALTH By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller There are fewer case law developments to report on from the past month…
Without prejudice: Exaggerated allegations did not fall within the “unambiguous impropriety” exception to the without prejudice rule By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that a without prejudice letter which included exaggerated allegations about an…
Sex discrimination: Failure to provide workplace facilities to express breastmilk was sexual harassment By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employment tribunal has held that failing to provide a private space for an employee to express…
Disability discrimination: Long Covid By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EHRC has clarified that, while long Covid will not automatically constitute a disability, it…
Exclusivity clauses: Banning exclusivity clauses in employment contracts for low paid workers By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The Government has confirmed that it will bring in legislation banning employers from including…
Government announces a review of the future of work By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Government has announced that Matt Warman MP has been asked to conduct a review of the Future…
Government publishes review into health and care leadership By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Government has published a review into leadership across the NHS and social care to improve…
Employment Matters - May 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month the Government has confirmed that a draft statutory code of practice on dismissal and…
Employment Matters - May 2022 - Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month the Government has confirmed that a draft statutory code of practice on dismissal and…
Indirect sex discrimination: Turning down a flexible working request By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has confirmed that the pool for comparison for an indirect discrimination claim must…
Unfair dismissal: A dismissal may be unfair even if the employee has volunteered for redundancy By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that a tribunal was wrong to strike out a claim for unfair dismissal on the basis…
Unfair dismissal and disability discrimination: Making reasonable adjustments to the dismissal process By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that the dismissal of a disabled employee was not unfair in spite of the fact that…
Restrictive covenants: 12 Month non-compete clause enforced by the High Court By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The High Court has enforced a twelve month non-compete clause which was included in an employment…
Automatic Unfair Dismissal and Covid-19 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter In what is understood to be the first consideration by the EAT of a Covid-19 related dismissal, the…
Employment Matters - April 2022 Independent health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In this month’s alert we pick up on the latest guidance for employers on reducing the spread of…
New Government guidance: COVID-19 testing in adult social care By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter On 31 st March 2022, the Government issued updated guidance for adult social care providers and…
Employment Matters - April 2022 FS By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In this month’s alert we pick up on the latest guidance for employers on reducing the spread of…
Employment Matters - April 2022 PUBLIC HEALTH By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In this month’s alert we pick up on the latest guidance for employers on reducing the spread of…
Employment Matters - April 2022 - C By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In this month’s alert we pick up on the latest guidance for employers on reducing the spread of…
The press and employment tribunal proceedings: Client names and commercially sensitive information in tribunal documents may have to be open to scrutiny so that the principle of open justice is served By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that an employment tribunal did not properly consider the principle of open…
The press and employment tribunal proceedings: Employer ordered to provide tribunal documents to a journalist months after the hearing By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has ordered an employer to provide copies of skeleton arguments, witness statements and…
Victimisation: “Detriment” should be given a wide meaning By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that a tribunal should interpret the meaning of “detriment” widely when…
Privacy and confidentiality: No privacy of personal emails sent on business email accounts By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal in unsuccessful proceedings for misuse of private…
Privacy and confidentiality: Expectation of privacy in respect of criminal investigations By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Supreme Court has confirmed that an individual who is the subject of a criminal investigation…
Industrial action: Protection from suffering a detriment for participating in industrial action By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan Overturning an EAT judgement, the Court of Appeal has held that UK legislation cannot be read as…
COVID-19 Updated Government/NHS guidance on testing By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan On 4 April the Government guidance "COVID-19 – management of staff and exposed patients and…
Employment Matters - March 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month, there have been a number of developments including the end of legal restrictions…
Agency workers: The right to be informed of vacancies is just that By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has held that an agency workers right to be informed of vacancies does not…
Settling claims: Drafting COT3s to settle future claims By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has upheld a tribunal judgment that the wording in a COT3 was wide enough to cover a claim…
Termination of employment: Bringing forward the date of resignation By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that an employer who shortened the notice…
Worker status: Irreducible minimum of obligation By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has confirmed that ‘worker’ status does not rely on the existence of an…
Diversity Monitoring Projects: Navigating data protection in an employment context By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller A number of our clients have recently been asking for advice about how to carry out workforce…
Employment Matters - March 2022 - Independent Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month, there have been a number of developments including the end of legal restrictions…
Employment Matters - March 2022 - NHS By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller This month, there have been a number of developments including the end of legal restrictions…
Government’s plans: “Living with COVID-19” – implications for non NHS health and social care employers By Zoe Thomas, Joanne Bell, Hilary Larter On 21 February the Prime Minister announced the Government’s plans to remove the remaining…
Government’s plans: “Living with COVID-19” – implications for NHS employers By Zoe Thomas, Joanne Bell, Hilary Larter On 21 February the Prime Minister announced the Government’s plans to remove the remaining…
Employment Matters - February 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Vicarious liability: Is an employer liable for injuries caused by its employees’ practical jokes? By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that an employer was neither negligent nor vicariously…
Employment status: Personal service and the right of substitution By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a decision that individual owner driver franchisees who provided delivery…
Holiday pay: The right to be paid for annual leave that has been taken on an unpaid basis carries over to the next holiday year By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In an important case on holiday pay, the Court of Appeal has held that workers who have taken…
Flexible working applications: Employers must have explicit employee consent to any extension of a flexible working decision period By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has overturned an employment tribunal judgment, finding that an employee’s agreement to…
What’s on the employment law horizon? By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller We have summarised expected changes in legislation to look out for in 2022 and the position on…
Employment Matters - February 2022 - Commercial By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - February 2022 - Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment status: Taxi driver working through an app was not a worker By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld an employment tribunal decision that the operator of an app was a ‘client or…
‘It’s good, but it’s not right!’ Preserving rights of relief under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1940 By , Louise Gallagher The Court of Session recently issued a decision in the case of Loretto Housing Association Limited…
Seeking a contribution: Scotland v England and Wales By Rachel Rough The legal system in Scotland compared to England and Wales provides many differences…
Unfair dismissal: Dismissal for bringing vexatious and frivolous grievances was fair By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that an employee who had raised numerous grievances, which…
Tribunal awards: 25% uplift on compensatory, injury to feelings and aggravated damages awards upheld by the EAT By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision to uplift by 25% the compensatory award and awards for…
Disability discrimination: Withdrawal of secondment offer was not disability discrimination By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal decision that an employer had not discriminated against an employee…
Employment status: Director and 40% shareholder was not an employee or worker By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that a director who was also a 40% shareholder and…
Maintaining high professional standards: Disclosure of documents relating to internal investigations By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court judgment that a neurosurgeon who was subject to an…
Employment Matters - January 2022 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller A very happy new year to all our readers…
Employment Matters - January 2022 - Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller A very happy new year to all our readers…
Employment Matters - December 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Unfair dismissal: Employers should consider consulting with employees about potential sanctions during disciplinary proceedings. By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that an employer should have proactively consulted with an employee, who had…
Disability discrimination: Paranoid delusions were not a disability By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has held that an employee who had suffered from paranoid delusions was not…
Trade Unions: Protection from detriment for striking workers By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that a group of pilots who participated in a strike were protected from suffering…
National minimum wage: Taxi driver's car and uniform rental payments should have been deducted in national minimum wage calculation By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that an employment tribunal should have allowed a taxi driver's car and uniform…
John Riddell, as Executor Dative of the late Valerie Riddell v Arcus Solutions (Holdings) Ltd (unreported) By Louise Gallagher Our Glasgow casualty team were instructed by the defender in the All-Scotland Personal Injury Court…
Disability discrimination: Dismissal was not discriminatory where the employee told the employer about her disability after she was dismissed By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision that the dismissal of an employee for poor performance was…
Worker status: Courier with a limited right of substitution was a worker By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The Court of Appeal has held that a courier’s right to notify other couriers that his delivery slot…
Menopause: Disability discrimination By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The EAT has held that an employment tribunal had not properly considered whether an employee’s…
Collective redundancy consultation: Special circumstances defence By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The EAT has held that an employer could not rely on its compulsory liquidation as a “special…
“Fire and re-hire” bill By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The Government has blocked a private member’s bill which aimed to curb the practice of "fire and…
Employment Matters - November 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Menopause: Disability discrimination - NHS By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell The EAT has held that an employment tribunal had not properly considered whether an employee’s…
Employment Matters - November 2021 - Independent Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - November 2021 - Public Health By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - October 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - Health - October 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Joanne Bell DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - September 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Entitlement to insured income protection: Importance of contractual wording By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal decision requiring an employer to make payments directly to an…
Disability discrimination: Indefinite pay protection not a reasonable adjustment By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller Indefinite pay protection for a disabled employee who moved roles would not have been a reasonable…
Disability discrimination: Reasonable adjustments prevented application of absence management policy being discriminatory By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that an employer who had redeployed a disabled employee with protected pay and…
Disability discrimination: Employer had no knowledge of disability By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a decision that an employee was not disabled or, if he was, that his employer…
Unfair dismissal: Right of appeal in redundancy dismissals By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has confirmed that the absence of any appeal does not of itself make a…
Employment Matters - September 2021 - Public Health By Hilary Larter, Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Government launch consultation on making COVID-19 and flu vaccination mandatory in the health and wider social care sector By Hilary Larter, Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller On 9 September, the Government opened a six week public consultation on making vaccination a…
Employment Matters - September 2021 - Independent Health By Hilary Larter, Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Discrimination: The Supreme Court has confirmed that claimants bear the initial burden of proof to establish a prima facie case in discrimination claims. By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Supreme Court has confirmed that claimants bear the initial burden of proof in discrimination…
Unfair dismissal: SOSR dismissal of teacher charged with a criminal offence but not prosecuted was fair By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Court of Session in Scotland (equivalent of the Court of Appeal in England) has found that a…
Harassment: Constructive dismissal can amount to an act of unlawful harassment By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that a constructive dismissal can constitute an act of discriminatory harassment…
Tribunal awards: Victim of harassment awarded compensation for career long loss By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld a tribunal’s decision to calculate compensation for direct sexual orientation…
Sexual harassment: Government to introduce a new duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller The Government Equalities Office has published its response to the consultation on sexual…
Employment Matters - August 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
McArthur and others v Timberbush Tours Ltd and another By Rachel Rough, This decision of Lord Armstrong on 22 nd July in the Outer House affirms the judicial approach to…
Discrimination: Protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender critical beliefs By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The EAT has held that a gender critical belief, including a belief that sex is immutable and should…
Discrimination: Women are less likely to be able to accommodate certain working patterns than men because of childcare responsibilities By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan A tribunal should have assumed, without needing evidence, that there is a “childcare disparity”,…
Industrial Action: Protection from suffering a detriment for participating in industrial action By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan UK legislation should be interpreted so that workers are protected from suffering a detriment for…
Whistleblowing: Was a decision to dismiss materially influenced by whistleblowing disclosures? By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan The decision to dismiss a whistleblower was influenced entirely by his behaviour after he had blown…
Employment Matters - July 2021 By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Update on Government proposals By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller In 2019, the Government proposed several reforms to employment law which have been side-tracked by…
Qualified One Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) By Louise Gallagher The Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, and more particularly,…
Health Employment Matters - June 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Discrimination: A constructive dismissal may be discriminatory even where the last straw is not discriminatory By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that if discriminatory acts play a sufficient part in the overall course of…
Health and safety dismissals: Dismissals for causing "upset and friction" when carrying out health and safety activities By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that the dismissal of an employee for causing “upset and friction” when…
Disability discrimination: Whether disability is "long term" is assessed as at the date of the alleged discriminatory act By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The Court of Appeal has ruled that the long-term effect of an impairment must be considered as at…
Worker status: Mutuality of obligation By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that the absence of mutuality of obligation will not necessarily prevent an…
Employment Matters - June 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Public sector exit payments: Treasury guidance By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The Treasury has published guidance on the criteria which public sector employers should consider…
Covid Related Claims: Taking action against employees who refuse to attend the workplace due to worries about covid infection By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller An employee who was dismissed for refusing to attend the workplace because he was worried about…
Disability Discrimination: Determining whether an impairment has a substantial adverse effect By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller In this case, the EAT considered how to approach the question of whether an impairment has a…
Sex Discrimination: No discrimination where an employer does not pay enhanced shared parental pay but does pay enhanced adoption pay By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that there is no sex discrimination where an…
Holiday Pay: Workers who have taken unpaid annual leave do not have the right to carry over their entitlement to holiday pay to subsequent years By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller The EAT has held that a worker does not have the right to carry over their entitlement to holiday…
Employment Matters - May 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
TUPE: Splitting employees’ contracts after a service provision change By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller In a case which leaves practical difficulties, the EAT has confirmed that employees’ contracts can…
Whistleblowing: The public interest test is widely defined By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller A worker may be protected as a whistle-blower even if public interest only affects one client, and…
Discrimination: Not religious discrimination to remove a Christian from office for publicly voicing views about same sex adoption and homosexuality By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller A Christian, who was a magistrate and a non-executive director of an NHS Trust, did not suffer…
April Changes By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller Annual changes in statutory rates, limits and benefits will take effect in April…
Employment Matters - April 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - April 2021 - Independent Health By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Discrimination: “Stale” diversity training By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller An employer’s diversity training had become stale and needed refreshing, leading the tribunal to…
Indirect Discrimination: “Particular disadvantage” involves looking at those impacted by the policy By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller When determining whether a policy was indirectly discriminatory against women because of their…
Constructive Dismissal: Engaging in a grievance procedure does not undermine a constructive dismissal claim By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller An ex-employee who had engaged in his employer’s grievance procedure before claiming constructive…
Employment Matters - March 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters: Public Health - March 2021 By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Update on Legal Professional Privilege – Businesses Take Caution! By There has been another twist to the tale of Legal Professional Privilege (“LPP”)…
Public Sector exit payments – cap on £95k revoked By Hilary Larter, Joanne Bell The Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payments Regulations have been in force since 4 November…
Employment Matters - February 2021 - Commercial By Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller We’re delighted to have recorded the first of our podcasts looking at the COVID legacy on various…
Employment Matters - February 2021 - Health & Social Care By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan We’re delighted to have recorded the first of our podcasts looking at the COVID legacy on various…
Employment Matters - February 2021 - Financial Services By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan We’re delighted to have recorded the first of our podcasts looking at the COVID legacy on various…
Tribunal Time Limits: No extension of tribunal time limits for an ex-employee who claimed that he had misunderstood the ACAS early conciliation rules By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan The Court of Appeal has upheld a tribunal’s decision that it was not just and equitable to extend…
Victimisation: An employee who referred to “discrimination” without specifically referring to sex discrimination was not protected from victimisation By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan A comment in a grievance that an employer’s actions “might amount to discrimination” was not a…
Interim Relief By Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller BACKGROUND Ex-employees can apply for interim relief in relation to claims of automatically…
Trade Unions By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan WHAT DUTY DOES A TRADE UNION OWE TO ITS MEMBERS IN EMPLOYMENT DISPUTES? The High Court has…
COVID Developments By Hilary Larter, Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan NEW TREASURY DIRECTION On 27 January 2021, the sixth Treasury Direction on the Coronavirus Job…
Employment Matters - January 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - Public Health - January 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Health and safety: Landmark case gives protection to workers from suffering detriment on health and safety grounds By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The High Court has held that protection from suffering detriment on health and safety grounds…
Employment Tribunals: Recent changes to early conciliation and current guidance on tribunal hearings By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter On 1 December 2020, the rules in relation to early conciliation were changed…
Future Changes: What to expect in 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter THE FACTS Unsurprisingly in the context of the pandemic, the Government’s legislative agenda for…
Future Changes: What to expect in 2021 - Financial Services By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter THE FACTS Unsurprisingly in the context of the pandemic, the Government’s legislative agenda for…
Employment Matters - Financial Services - January 2021 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Court of Appeal: Did 37 separate communications amount to a protected disclosure? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has held they did not, and an employment tribunal was right on the facts of…
Breach of Contract: What happens when both parties are in repudiatory breach? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter A firm was entitled to terminate the contract of a self-employed stockbroker without notice for a…
Constructive Dismissal: Was a failure to return to work at the end of maternity leave an acceptance of the employer’s breach of contract? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee who did not return to work after her maternity leave had accepted her employer’s…
Constructive Dismissal: Witholding salary for three days was a repudiatory breach of contract By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employer who intentionally withheld salary for three days was in repudiatory breach of contract,…
Discrimination: When can cost considerations justify indirect discrimination? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has held that an employer’s need to reduce staff costs in order to balance its…
Whistleblowing: Employment tribunal time limits and the application of the ACAS code of practice when employees make whistleblowing allegations By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures may apply…
Tribunal costs awards: Employer recoups record £432,000 in legal costs By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employment tribunal has made what is believed to be the highest ever costs award against a…
Vicarious liability: Is an employer liable for its employees’ practical jokes? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employer was not vicariously liable for an employee’s practical joke that went badly wrong.
Public sector exit payments By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Regulations imposing a £95,000 cap on public sector exit payments are in force from 4 November…
ICO publishes new guidance for handling data subject access requests (DSARs) following its consultation By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter Following its consultation, which ended in February this year, the ICO has published new detailed…
Employment Matters - November 2020 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matter focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - Health - November 2020 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matter focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - October 2020 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matter focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Disability discrimination: employee suffering from paranoid delusions did not have a disability By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee who suffered from paranoid delusions was not protected against disability…
Unfair dismissal: “mapping” in redundancy situations By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee who resigned after her employer tried to “map” her into a new role, rather than make…
Confidentiality clauses: a confidentiality term was drafted too widely to be enforceable By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter A contractual confidentiality term which was intended to run indefinitely and covered confidential…
Right to privacy: will reliance on WhatsApp messages in misconduct proceedings be a breach of the right to privacy? By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The police force was entitled to rely on officers’ WhatsApp messages in misconduct proceedings.
Employment tribunals: amendments to tribunal rules to increase hearing capacity By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Government intends to amend the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure to increase the capacity…
Employment Matters - Health - October 2020 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matter focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Unfair Dismissal: It was not unfair to dismiss an employee without following any procedure after a breakdown in working relationships By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee was not unfairly dismissed following a breakdown in working relationships, even though…
Unfair Dismissal: Practicability of re-engagement By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employer’s concerns about an employee’s capability and integrity made re-engagement…
Unfair Dismissal: Unfair dismissal claim could proceed even though the claimant had no chance of a monetary award By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that an unfair dismissal claim should proceed where there were arguments of…
Unfair Dismissal and Disability Discrimination: The importance of considering mitigating factors and following policies By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter In a gross misconduct case, relying on a zero tolerance policy to dismiss an employee, without…
Employment Matters - September 2020 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matter focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment status: EAT upholds decision that cyclist dropped from Olympic training programme was neither an employee nor a worker By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A professional cyclist who participated in a training programme run by British Cycling was neither…
Reasonable adjustments: Refusing to give a written undertaking to pay a severance payment in the future was a failure to make a reasonable adjustment By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that an employment tribunal could make a recommendation in a successful reasonable…
Holiday pay: Should a profitability bonus be included in holiday pay calculations? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that a profitability bonus should not be included in holiday pay for 1…
Furloughed workers: Job retention bonus and how to calculate statutory redundancy and notice payments for furloughed workers By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter More details have been published about the Government’s Job Retention Bonus and legislation has…
Public sector exit payments By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter We have already alerted you to the fact that the Government has resurrected the idea of caps to…
Employment Matters - July 2020 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
COVID 19 Update By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Covid-19 employment law landscape continues to evolve…
TUPE: An employment contract can be split between multiple transferees on transfer By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The European Court of Justice has held that, where an undertaking transfers to multiple…
Restrictive Covenants: Constructive dismissal, garden leave and non-compete clauses By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The High Court has upheld a six month non-compete clause where, taking garden leave into account,…
Whistleblowing: Taking action against a worker for the manner in which they blow the whistle By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has considered whether taking action against a worker for their manner in blowing the…
Employment Matters - Health - July 2020 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
COVID-19 Employment Law changes By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter Following on from our alert on 27 March here, HMRC have now released some updated employer…
Barclays v Various Claimants By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The same justices who heard the appeal in the Morrisons data protection case also gave judgment on…
Employment Matters - March 2020 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Disability discrimination: EAT considers whether one-off acts amount to a provision, criterion or practice By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter One-off acts by an employer in the course of dealing with one employee can, but will not always,…
Whistleblowing: Court of Appeal holds employer not liable for making a false statement to third parties about a whistleblowing ex-employee By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employer who made a damaging false statement about a whistleblowing ex-employee to third parties…
Unfair dismissal: EAT finds dismissal was unfair because the investigating officer failed to pass important information to the decision maker By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A dismissal for alleged sexual assault was unfair because the investigating officer failed to tell…
Unfair dismissal: EAT considers whether it be fair to dismiss to avoid reputational risk By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter It was fair to dismiss an employee to avoid reputational damage when he had been charged with a…
Employment Matters for Health - March 2020 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - February 2020 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
6 April 2020: What is changing for Employers? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Changes to statutory rates and employment related legislation are coming into effect from 6 April…
New Law: Section One Statements By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter From 6 April 2020, all employers will need to take action to comply with new obligations to provide…
Brexit: Employment Rights By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter No changes expected in 2020 to existing EU-derived employment rights.
Suspension: Solicitor who was suspended wins right to continue to perform most of her duties By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The High Court has granted an interim injunction requiring an employer to permit a solicitor who…
Sexual harassment and harassment at work: Technical guidance issued By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published technical guidance on harassment in the…
Unfair Dismissal: Probation service employee who failed to disclose a child protection issue was fairly dismissed By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A Probation Service Officer was not unfairly dismissed for deliberately failing to give her…
New Law: Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter From 6 April 2020, parents who have tragically suffered the loss of a child will be entitled to two…
Indirect religious discrimination: Blanket “no beards” policy indirectly discriminated against Sikh job applicant By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan Mr Sethi is a Sikh who adheres strictly to Kesh, which is the requirement that the hair of the body…
The Queen's Speech: Employment Law Changes By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter On 19 December 2019, the Queen’s Speech was delivered, setting out details of legislation that the…
Whistleblowing: Suffering a Detriment By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter To bring a whistleblowing detriment claim in an employment tribunal, a worker must suffer the…
Workers Status: Right of Substitution By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A courier’s ability to “release” a delivery job was not an unfettered right of substitution
Menopause: New Guidance For Employers By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter ACAS has published guidance to help employers manage and support menopausal staff…
Data Protection: ICO amends guidance on timescales for compliance with DSARs By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has amended its guidance on the timescales for…
Miscarriage and the workplace By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Miscarriage Association has published a leaflet containing information and advice for…
Employment Matters - December 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Holiday and sickness absence: Employers are only required to allow carry-over of four weeks' holiday for workers on sickness absence By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Under current law, employers must permit workers who are unable to take their statutory annual…
Whistleblowing: Public interest test By Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter, Zoë Wigan A claimant must have the opportunity to give direct evidence about whether they had a subjective…
Whistleblowing: Interim relief By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An application for interim relief can be brought in a whistleblowing claim for unfair dismissal…
Automatically unfair dismissal: Should the motivation of anyone except for a decision maker be taken into account? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employee was automatically unfairly dismissed because the investigation was driven by a manager…
Disability discrimination: Sickness absence triggers By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employer who did not adapt the sickness absence trigger point for a disabled employee failed to…
Confidentiality clauses: Evolving position By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Ignited by the #MeToo movement, there continues to be significant interest around the topic of…
General Election 2019: Possible employment law reform By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter With the UK general election fast approaching, we have summarised the key employment law policies…
Employment Matters - November 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Religion and belief discrimination: Beliefs about transgenderism were not protected by discrimination legislation By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A Christian doctor whose beliefs about transgenderism prevented him from referring to transgender…
Legal advice privilege: Leaked email from a solicitor was legally privileged By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has overturned an EAT decision and held that a solicitor’s leaked email did not…
Race discrimination: The dangers of not giving an honest reason for a dismissal By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employer who lied about the reason for a dismissal was trying to cover up a dismissal tainted by…
Indirect religion and belief discrimination: Did an employee suffer indirect discrimination because of her beliefs about copyright? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has dismissed an employee’s claim that she suffered indirect discrimination…
Unfair dismissal: Disciplinary investigations By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The removal of an investigator’s evaluative conclusions from an investigation report following…
Allegations against a doctor of being rude and unmanageable did not amount to “professional misconduct” By Udara Ranasinghe, Hilary Larter Ms Idu was employed by the Trust as a consultant in emergency surgery…
Employment Matters - October 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Religion or Belief Discrimination: Employment Tribunal finds ‘vegetarianism’ is not a “belief” protected from discrimination By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employment tribunal has held that vegetarianism is not protected by discrimination legislation…
Legal Privilege: Cherry picking the waiver of legal privilege By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Employers who decide to waive legal privilege over documents that support their case risk…
Whistleblowing: Is an employee protected as a whistleblower if the disclosure is made partly out of self-interest? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employee who makes a disclosure partly out of self-interest may be protected as a whistleblower…
Redundancy Payments: Employee entitled to be awarded a Statutory Redundancy Payment as well as an NHS Contractual Redundancy Payment By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The tribunal cap of £25,000 for contractual claims did not apply to prevent an employee being…
Employment Matters for Health - October 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Employment Matters - September 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Holiday Pay: Holiday pay entitlement for part year workers By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Statutory holiday pay entitlement for workers who only work for part of the holiday year should be…
Illegal Workers: Illegal worker was not barred from bringing contractual claims against her ex employer By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A domestic worker whose right to live in and work in the UK had expired without her knowledge was…
Employment Matters for Health - September 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Junior Doctors: Widely used methodology for monitoring working hours and rest breaks for junior doctors is flawed By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The Court of Appeal has held that junior doctor pay has been incorrectly calculated in breach of…
Covert Recordings: An employee's covert recording is not necessarily an act of gross misconduct By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter The EAT has given useful guidance on whether, and when, covert recordings by employees will amount…
Employment Matters - August 2019 By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Discrimination: Stereotypical assumptions By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter A tribunal can take judicial notice of stereotypical assumptions that might be held, but it must…
Disability Discrimination: Employer's knowledge of disability By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employer did not have constructive knowledge of an employee’s disabilities because she had…
Harassment: Are employers liable for employees' offensive Facebook posts? By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter An employer was not liable for harassment when an employee posted a racially offensive image on…
TUPE: National minimum wage pay information By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Transferors are not responsible for providing pay information under national minimum wage…
Consultation Update By Ceri Fuller, Zoë Wigan, Hilary Larter Government responds to two consultations and issues four more restrictive covenants
Employment Matters - June 2019 By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Unfair Dismissal: Dismissal of a Christian employee for proselytising was not unfair By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An NHS Trust did not unfairly dismiss a Christian nurse who had continued to proselytise to…
Working Time: The ECJ holds that employers must have a system for measuring daily working time of all workers By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The European Court of Justice has held that member states must require employers to set up a system…
Disability Discrimination: Blocking of internal posting for disabled employee was not disability discrimination By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee with multiple disabilities did not suffer disability discrimination when an overseas…
Disability Discrimination: Knowledge of disability By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The dismissal of an employee may have been discriminatory even though the employer only found out…
Unfair Dismissal: Employer's failure to follow its own informal disciplinary procedure resulted in constructive dismissal By Nick Chronias, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An employee of an NHS Trust who resigned in response to the issuing of an informal “Improvement…
Employment Matters - May 2019 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…
Unfair Dismissal: Employer could rely on tribunal findings to forgo a disciplinary investigation but an appeal hearing was still required By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An FCA regulated employer dismissed an employee in reliance on an employment tribunal’s findings…
PHI: Dismissed employee was entitled to compensation for his PHI benefits until hes death or retirement age By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The EAT has held that an employee would have been entitled to PHI benefits until death or…
Executive Remuneration: Government report published By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter A Business, Energy and Industrial (BEIS) parliamentary committee has published a strongly worded…
Vicarious Liability: Employer not liable for injury sustained by employee at Christmas party By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The High Court has held that an employer was not liable for injuries sustained by an employee when…
Discrimination and Whistleblowing Awards: Vento Band increased By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter An increase to the bands for injury to feelings awards in discrimination and whistleblowing awards…
Government resurrects plans for a cap on public sector exit payments By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter The government has launched a consultation on draft regulations and associated guidance which…
Employment Matters for Health - May 2019 By Zoë Wigan, Ceri Fuller, Hilary Larter DAC Beachcroft's Employment Matters focuses on some of the most interesting cases and events…