The Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament sets out the UK government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead. This year’s speech took place on 10 May, and in addition to the Queen’s absence, there was notable absence of any employment law reform. In particular, the long-awaited Employment Bill, which was included in the … Continue Reading
Covid-19 related reluctance or refusal to attend the workplace is nothing new, but as we enter a new phase of the pandemic, ‘Living with Covid’, developing case law will be of interest to employers who require or expect workers to attend the workplace on a full or hybrid basis. This blog considers the current guidance … Continue Reading
The Supreme Court has delivered its ruling on the landmark Pimlico Plumbers case, upholding previous decisions that an ostensibly ‘self employed’ plumber was in fact properly classified as a ‘worker’ with valuable employment rights under UK law (including discrimination protection and holiday pay). The case has been closely monitored because of its impact on organisations engaging large numbers … Continue Reading
The FCA and PRA have announced a new package of rules aimed at formalising whistleblowing procedures within certain financial institutions. The rules will be implemented on 7 September 2016; however firms covered by the new regime must comply with the requirement to appoint a ‘whistleblowers’ champion’ by the earlier date of 7 March 2016. Background … Continue Reading
Another decision has been handed down to clarify – or complicate – the position on which aspects of pay should be included when calculating an employee’s entitlement to holiday pay. The Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland (“CA”) has held that voluntary overtime is not necessarily excluded from the calculation of holiday pay for the … Continue Reading
In the case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras –v – Tyco, the Advocate General has held that, where an employee has no fixed or habitual place of work, time spent travelling from home to the first place of work of the day and from the last place of work of the … Continue Reading
Following the unexpected victory by the Conservatives in the UK general election on 7 May, the Government has announced its programme for the next session of Parliament. Amongst its proposals, the Government is proposing new laws regulating the ability to take lawful strike action. The new proposals will require a 50% voter turnout threshold in … Continue Reading
The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has today given its decision in the case of USDAW and others – v – Ethel Austin and others, otherwise known as the Woolworths case. The CJEU has decided that, in determining whether collective redundancy consultation obligations are triggered, an employer need only consider proposed redundancies … Continue Reading
With just three weeks to go until the general election, and the main parties having now published their manifestos, what is the future looking like for employment law? The Conservatives have indicated their support for real terms increases in the National Minimum Wage, rising from its current level of £6.50 per hour to reach £8 … Continue Reading
In Chestertons –v– Nurmohamed, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has given the first appellate guidance on when a worker’s disclosure is made in the public interest, so as to attract whistleblower protection. Changes to Whistleblowing legislation In July 2013, the whistleblower legislation was changed to require a worker making a disclosure to have a reasonable belief … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Martin Gätzner. France Under French law, the employment contract of an employee who is on sick leave is suspended. The employee is expected to inform his or her employer and the relevant social security organisations of the sickness absence within 48 hours, and will be entitled to receive social security … Continue Reading
By Amy Ferrington and Michael D. Smith on Posted in Employment (UK)
The recent line of holiday pay cases has led to widespread media coverage suggesting some employers’ payroll costs are due to soar. Businesses have therefore been eagerly awaiting the Employment Tribunal’s decision in Lock v British Gas, which has now been handed down on the question of whether commission structures will impact holiday pay. In … Continue Reading
This post was written by David Ashmore and Amy Treppass. In Metroline Travel v Stoute, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) decided that employees with type 2 diabetes controlled by diet (rather than medication) are not automatically protected by disability discrimination legislation. The Facts Mr Stoute was employed by Metroline and worked for them as a … Continue Reading
In Donelien v Liberata, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has held that an employer did not have constructive knowledge of an employee’s disability, even though further steps could have been taken to investigate her condition. Background Under the Equality Act 2010, employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to help disabled employees overcome disadvantages arising … Continue Reading
ACAS has issued a new Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures, which came into force last Wednesday (11 March 2015). The new Code has been issued due to uncertainty regarding workers’ statutory rights to be accompanied by a trade union representative or fellow worker at disciplinary and grievance hearings, following the EAT decision … Continue Reading
In Ottimo Property Services Ltd -v- Duncan and another, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has decided that, where several different clients change service provider at or around the same time, each individual service provision change can be considered together to decide how TUPE applies. The facts Mr Duncan worked as a site maintenance engineer at a … Continue Reading
In the case of Norman and others v National Audit Office UKEAT/0276/14, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) confirmed that flexibility clauses in employment contracts which seek to give employers the right to make unilateral changes to the contract’s terms will be interpreted restrictively against employers. In reaching its decision, the EAT overturned an Employment Tribunal’s … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Claudia Röthlingshöfer. Welcome to Reed Smith’s monthly global employment law blog post. This month’s post covers the protection afforded to whistleblowers around the world. France Under French law, employees cannot be sanctioned, dismissed or be subject to direct or indirect discriminatory measures (especially concerning salary, training, reclassification or appointment) for reporting … Continue Reading
The Advocate General has given a preliminary opinion in the case of USDAW & Wilson v Woolworths and others (“the Woolworths case”) on the question of whether there is a requirement to aggregate the number of employees across different locations to meet the thresholds for collective consultation obligations (in England and Wales, of 20 employees … Continue Reading
Reductions in force – also known as collective redundancies – can be daunting for employers, both in dealing with employee issues and protecting the company from liability. On Thursday, 29 January 2015, my partners and I will present a primer on what employers need to know about redundancies in four key jurisdictions: the UK, France, … Continue Reading
United Kingdom In the UK, a contractual term restricting an employee’s activities after termination of employment will be void for being in restraint of trade and contrary to public policy, unless the employer can show that: It has a legitimate proprietary interest that the term protects The scope and duration of the protection sought goes … Continue Reading
Game Retail Limited v Mr C Laws In what is thought to be the first such case involving Twitter, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has overturned an Employment Judge’s decision that an employee was unfairly dismissed after posting offensive tweets. Although the EAT declined to give general guidance about the manner in which misconduct involving social … Continue Reading
In our previous blog, “Are obese workers protected from discrimination” , we confirmed the advocate general’s opinion in the case of Kaltoft v Municipality of Billund (case C-354/13) that while obese workers were not automatically covered by EU disability discrimination law, the worker may be considered to be disabled where he or she is “severely, … Continue Reading
Welcome to the first in a series of blogs covering global employment law issues. Each month we will be sending you information about key employment law topics from our offices across the globe. The first of our topics is: Holiday Pay – What Are Your Minimum Legal Requirements? United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, all … Continue Reading
