Employment law news
Stay Updated
Be the first to know about changes in employment law. Sign up to receive our monthly employment law news email updates.
P&O Ferries mass redundancies – what is the legal view ?
Last week it was announced that P&O Ferries LTD had made mass redundancies across their crewing team, leaving 800 employees without work. This announcement was made by live video call to all 800 individuals, with no apparent consultation process having been...
The ‘gay cake case’
Back in 2020, the Supreme Court said that a bakery and its Christian owners had not directly discriminated against a customer when they refused to bake a cake bearing the slogan ‘Support gay marriage’. Ending seven years of litigation on this case, the European Court...
Unfair dismissal
Conduct is one of the five potentially fair reasons for dismissing an employee. Gross misconduct is the term often used for the most serious types of misconduct that undermines the employer’s trust and confidence in the employee to such an extent that it justifies...
Employment tribunals – extensions of time
An employment tribunal can extend the time limit for bringing a discrimination claim if it is just and equitable to do so. The things which the tribunal will consider include the length of the delay and any reasons for it, whether the cogency of evidence is affected...
Discrimination – 3 month time limit?
Discrimination claims must usually be brought in the employment tribunal within three months of any discriminatory act occurring. If the act is one in a series of discriminatory acts, a claim should be brought within three months of the last act in that series. In...
Vicarious liability
Employers must ensure 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 whether...
Menopause
The Women and Equalities Committee is conducting an inquiry into menopause and the workplace. In January, MPs heard from high profile employment lawyers who support making menopause a new protected characteristic alongside the other nine which are included in the...
Worker status
Section 230 Employment Rights Act 1996 sets out the legal definitions of employee and worker. To be a worker – and gain the benefits of paid holiday and national minimum wage - there must be a contract between the business and the individual, the contract must be for...
£2m Discrimination compensation
An employment tribunal in London has awarded a female banker one of the largest awards of compensation ever made by a British employment tribunal. In Macken v BNP Paribas, the employee was a banker with a global banking and financial services company. She won her...
Covid-19 – mandatory vaccination
Mandatory vaccination for NHS and social care workers is set to be scrapped. Sajid Javid, Health and Social Care Secretary, said he believes that the position has now changed with the omicron variant proving to be milder than previous versions of the virus. No doubt...
Midas goes into administration
The news that Midas Group Limited and its main subsidiary has gone into administration is very unwelcome news for the region. A total of 303 Midas employees have been lost so far, with likely hundreds more to follow. The failure will affect numerous construction...
Back to work means business must keep the workplace Covid-safe
The Government’s latest lifting of Covid-related restrictions, allowing business to return to the workplace, should mean worker welfare is a top priority according to health and safety experts. Personal Injury specialist Chris Tagg takes a look at the businesses...
Whistleblowing
An employee has the right not be subjected to detriment by their employer on the ground that they made a protected disclosure. In deciding whether treatment is done ‘on the ground’ of making a protected disclosure, the tribunal must decide whether the protected...