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A dismissal can be automatically unfair where the main reason for the dismissal is related to protected disclosure made by a worker in circumstances where the worker reasonably believes that a serious wrongdoing has occurred in the workplace – see section 43A Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA)
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Two recent cases were reported in January 2022, dealing with serious breaches of health and safety by a corporate body as well as a private individual. These prosecutions by the HSE highlight the fact that the HSE will prosecute all serious corporate breaches, risking the safety of their staff, but…
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In principle, the above can be carried out by an employer if they can justify that they followed a fair and reasonable procedure of meaningful consultations with the staff affected to justify the business rationale of why the changes are required in circumstances where there are no other alternative…
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Globally, one person commits suicide every 73 seconds. By the time you finish reading this article, two people will have taken their own lives. In 2020, the UK registered 4912 suicides and many unrecorded attempted suicides. Men made up 15.3/100,000 of the population, whilst women recorded 4.9/10…
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Prior to the case of Harper Trust v Brazel, employers were using the 12.7% of hours worked rule when calculating holiday pay where staff worked irregular hours. In this case, Brazel (B) was an employee working under a zero-hours contract who worked approximately 32–35 weeks per year. When calculatin…
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Many employers are likely to have disciplinary policies in place where persistent lateness would be regarded as a misconduct issue and thus could give rise to disciplinary action. There is a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision in Tijani v The House of Commons Commission that suggests persiste…
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Regulatory exemptions are often granted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which the EU regards as being below 250 employees, but The Business Perception Survey Report 2021 highlighted that many medium-sized businesses (those between 50 and 249 employees) still identified that they spent…
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Employers have a duty of care to employees in relation to Health and Safety. This duty extends to both the employee’s physical and mental welfare. With the current cost of living crisis, employers can support their employees during these tough economic times.
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The Conservative Government has promised wide sweeping changes to employment rights. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill was introduced to the House of Commons on 22 September 2022 which, if passed by Parliament, will allow the Government the ability to abolish all EU-derived Employment…
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A limitation clause in a contract will reduce your liability if something goes drastically wrong.
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With the sad death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and with Prince Charles becoming King Charles III, some staff at Clarence House have been made aware that their jobs are now at risk of redundancy due to the change of role of now King Charles III.
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The Government has announced that Monday 19 September will be a bank holiday in the United Kingdom to coincide with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral.
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It has been ruled by an Employment Tribunal in the case of Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports that under the Equality Act 2010 ethical veganism could amount to a philosophical belief.
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The Personal Protection Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, sometimes referred to as PPER 92) were amended in April 2022, so now the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (PPER) is in force.
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The construction industry faces inherent health and safety issues which are obvious. But what is not so clear is that mental health issues are on the increase. With the onset of COVID-19 restrictions, and the later return to normality, building firms and employees have been put under pressure to res…
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In the case of Mr Parbhjot Singh v Metroline West Limited, Mr Singh (S) had been invited to a disciplinary hearing and (S) alleged that his operations manager “displayed aggressive body language, by throwing his hands in the air, pointing his fingers at his ……. face and standing with his arms folded…
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Occasionally an employer may find themselves involved in a dispute with an employee and they may feel the only way out is to exit the employee from the company due to a loss of trust and confidence.
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With any disciplinary /grievance matter, employers must follow fair and reasonable procedures that are in line with the provisions of the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
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Ms Mellor (M) was employed as a teacher at the Academy. During her previous pregnancy, she had been allocated a room to express milk/breastfeed but was told this was “not an option” following the birth of her second child.
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Gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the size and health of the UK economy measured over a period this can be one quarter to one year. Where there is a drop in the GDP % rate that can impact on unemployment as that increases. This connection is usually referred to as Okun's law.
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