The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has announced plans to introduce a new type of employment contract – an ‘owner-employee’ employment contract. ‘Owner-employees’ will receive between £2,000 and £50,000 worth of shares (which will be exempt from capital gains tax) in exchange for giving up certain rights, including redundancy rights, the right to claim unfair dismissal and the right to request flexible working or time off for training.  Owner-employees will also be required to give 16 weeks’ notice of their return from maternity leave, rather than the current 8 weeks.Continue Reading Plans for new ‘owner-employee’ employment contracts announced

Earlier this year, as part of its Employment Law Review, the Government conducted a public consultation on its proposal to introduce fees in the Employment Tribunals. The Ministry of Justice has now published the results of that consultation, and has indicated an intention to introduce fees in the summer of 2013.

This is a significant development in the life of Employment Tribunals, further watering down the original principle that the Tribunals would be an informal and accessible forum for resolving industrial disputes.Continue Reading Introduction of Fees in Employment Tribunals – results of consultation published

At a time when public employers across Pennsylvania are seeking to reduce or at least contain the skyrocketing costs of post-retirement health care benefits, the Commonwealth Court has virtually handcuffed municipalities from achieving any genuine relief for decades. The Commonwealth Court ruled in FOP, Flood City Lodge No. 86 v. City of Johnstown, No. 1873 C.D. 2010 (February 22, 2012), that the elimination of post-retirement health benefits for active police officers and firefighters by an Act 111 interest arbitration panel constitute an unlawful diminishment of contractually guaranteed benefits under the Home Rule Charter Law. This decision will likely have broad implications, as it signals how the Commonwealth Court will interpret a similar provision in the Pennsylvania Constitution that applies to all municipalities.
Continue Reading Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Prohibits Act 111 Arbitration Panels from Reducing Post-Retirement Health Care Benefits for Active Employees