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Why employers need to watch out when it comes to employee monitoring.
By Jon Dunkley, Partner, data protection and employment specialist with Wollens Solicitors. The ‘Big Brother’ surveillance scenario envisaged by George Orwell has long since become reality. The ability to watch citizens outlined in the futuristic novel Nineteen...
Flexible working
A poll by Working Families has collected data which shows that two thirds of employers have noticed an increase in flexible working requests by their male employees. The poll included a small sample of 26 UK employers who were asked how they managed the numerous...
Religion and belief
An individual is protected from discrimination based on their religion or belief. A philosophical belief can be protected if: it is genuinely held; it is a belief not just an opinion; it involves a weighty aspect of human life and behaviour; it attains a certain level...
Vicarious Liability
Employers must make sure that the workplace is safe for employees. Businesses can be held responsible for the acts or omissions of their employees which take place ‘during the course of employment’. In Chell v Tarmac Cement and Lime, the High Court has looked at...
Data Protection
Anyone can make a subject access request (SAR) from an organisation to ask whether and how the business is processing their personal information. In the employment sphere, SARs can also be used as a missile by an otherwise dissatisfied employee, often in preparation...
Important Government Furlough announcement. (Nov 2020)
The Government has announced that employers cannot claim statutory notice periods under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for claim periods starting on or after 1st December 2020. That means, contrary to the aims of the scheme, that employees who intended to make...
Furlough 2 – What you need to do before Thursday
As you cannot have missed, the Government is placing us on a second national lockdown on Thursday (5th November). That has triggered panic across the economy as businesses prepare for this new challenge at very short notice. However, on a practical level, what do you...
The new Job Support Scheme – Your questions answered
The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will replace the furlough scheme and will come into play on 1 November 2020. In this article, we look at FAQs covering how the scheme works, who is eligible and specific difficulties employers and employees might have concerns about. Which...
National Minimum Wage
The rules relating to the National Minimum Wage are complex. One reason for this is the need to ensure that employers do not seek to avoid their obligations by nominally paying workers the correct rate but then making artificial deductions that effectively reduce the...
Redundancy
Before dismissing an employee for redundancy a fair employer will take reasonable steps to look for an alternative – including offering the employee a chance to be considered for suitable vacancies elsewhere in the organisation. In Aramark (UK) Ltd v Fernandes the...
Wrongful Dismissal
In Hall v London Lions Basketball, Mr Hall was a professional basketball player who resigned when his employer failed to pay him the wages that it owed him. He claimed a constructive wrongful dismissal and that claim was upheld. He had been employed for a fixed term...
Constructive Dismissal
In Phoenix Academy Trust v Kilroy, Mr Kilroy was the acting principal of a school that was taken over by a new academy trust. He was accused of gross misconduct and believed that the charges against him had been manufactured in an attempt to force him out. A...
Trust & Confidence
Sometimes working relationships just break down and can’t be repaired. The employer may feel that it is left with no alternative but to dismiss an employee who simply cannot work effectively with a manager or key colleagues. A dismissal on these grounds can fall...