Analysis and commentary by Reed Smith attorneys on developments in employment and labor law
As more terrible news of the on-going Ebola epidemic continues to reach us each day, and with the disease showing no sign of slowing, employers around the world are asking what steps they should be taking regarding their employees, both now and in the future, if the disease spreads closer to home.
We take a…
Time after time, businesses are faced with (and use themselves) the classic argument in TUPE negotiations: “Of course the employee must transfer under TUPE – he spends more than 50% of his time on the transferring service”.
It is a very convenient and much rolled-out line of reasoning, which can work in both directions (“Of…
The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to subject an employee to detriment because they have raised (or are threatening to raise) a complaint about discrimination – so-called “victimisation.”
Over the last year or so there have been conflicting judgments from the Employment Appeal Tribunal on the issue of ex-employees and whether they are protected from victimisation.
Today the Court of Appeal handed down its judgment in Jessemey –v- Rowstock Limited [2014] EWCA Civ 185 and confirmed that ex-employees are protected from victimisation by their former employer. The judgment is not, at the time of writing, available online but please contact us if you would like a copy.Continue Reading Victimisation under the Equality Act 2010 – ex-employees are now protected (again!)
Costs awards in Employment Tribunals do not ‘follow the event’: a losing party will not automatically find themselves having to pay the other party’s costs of the litigation. However, the Tribunal has discretion to order costs where a party, or their representative, has acted “vexatiously, abusively, disruptively, or otherwise unreasonably” in the bringing or conducting of the proceedings, or the claim had “no reasonable prospect of success” (Rule 77 of the Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure 2013).
We take a look at some recent cases on this issue – some will reassure employers, but some may make them wonder if pursuing costs against an unreasonable Claimant is worth it…Continue Reading Costs in Tribunals – what employers should know
The application of UK employment law to employees working outside the UK is a big issue for multi-national companies and employers in the shipping industry. If you have an employee who works for you outside the UK, can you be sure that they are not entitled to UK employment rights?
Not always – and there has been a great deal of case law over the last few years which indicates just that. Some employees working outside the UK may have UK employment rights – international employers should remain aware of that risk to avoid surprise claims.
But which employees will have such rights? A new case this week in the Employment Appeal Tribunal ("EAT") might provide some help in answering that question, at least in relation to employment protection derived from EU law, such as discrimination claims. We take a look at Hasan v Shell International Shipping Services (PTE) Ltd, and consider if this case takes us any further in defining the true scope of UK employment law.Continue Reading “European” employment law applies in Europe only
Last month, we looked at when employer might be deemed to have knowledge of an employee’s disability, discussing (among other cases) the EAT’s decision Gallop v Newport County Council. At that time we noted that the appeal had already been heard in the Court of Appeal but judgment had been reserved.
The Court of Appeal has this week handed down its decision, urging caution to employers tempted to simply rely on an Occupational Health report to argue that they did not know (and could not reasonably have been expected to know) about an employee’s disability.
We look at the impact of this judgment, and consider three ‘golden rules’ for employers when seeking opinions on whether an employee is disabled.Continue Reading Three ‘golden rules’ when considering whether an employee is disabled
A duty to make reasonable adjustments in respect of a disabled employee will not arise if the employer does not know, and could not reasonably be expected to know:
(paragraph 20, schedule 8 of the Equality Act 2010).
The question which will often arise for employers, therefore, is how do you “know” whether an employee is disabled? Is the employee telling you he thinks he has a certain condition enough? Do you need a formal medical report or diagnosis? What questions do you need to ask?Continue Reading How do you “know” if your employee is disabled?
Most employers recognise the need to treat employees who are on long-term sick leave fairly and with compassion. But this has to be balanced with the needs of the business, and sometimes it becomes clear that unfortunately an employee will never be able come back to work, and the employment relationship simply has to be brought to an end.
What can (and should) employers do in this situation? Does the recent case of Warner v Armfield Retail & Leisure Ltd change how an employer should react? Here are some important steps that employers should take to minimise the risk of claims. Continue Reading Faced with an employee unlikely to ever return to work? What can you do?
In the recent case of Lorne Stewart plc v Hyde and others, the EAT made clear that it is important not to get side-tracked by the details of formal written contracts which are in place between the parties before and after a potential TUPE transfer, if such details do not reflect reality. Rather, it is essential to consider whether, in practice and on the facts, there is a service provision change and, if so, whether the employees in question are assigned to an organised grouping of employees which has as its principal purpose the carrying out of the activities concerned. Continue Reading TUPE service provision change – look at what is going on ‘on the ground’, as well as the contract
Holiday pay is often a tricky issue for employers and one which seems to be changing constantly. In the light of several new cases discussing holiday pay which have been reported over the summer and in the last couple of weeks, we take the opportunity to round up the legal developments, and set out five things employers should know before deciding how much holiday pay an employee may be entitled to on termination of their employment.Continue Reading Holiday pay – five things you should know when calculating holiday pay
