Recently, in the court of Appeal, an insurance broker was ordered to repay a £500,000 bonus after he lost the case against his employer. The court ruled that his employment ended one day before the stipulated contract instead of the day after. Insurance firm JLT Speciality hired James Craven who was paid the bonus amount on a predefined condition that he must not leave the job on or before 31st …
Following a case in the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court has decided to check thousands of employment contracts for their use of restrictive covenants, popularly known as non-compete clauses. This could result in a thousand of clauses being voided. The landmark case Tillman vs Egon Zehnder Ltd serves as a reminder to employers upon how sensitive the wordings of these clauses can be. The clause was held in Court …
You’ve just been fired for ‘gross misconduct.’ But before we can address this let’s consider: What does gross misconduct dismissal actually mean? A situation where an employer terminates the contract of an employee is known as dismissal. In an ideal environment, dismissal should be the last resort after all other redressal tactics have failed to work like an informal meeting to resolve the issue followed by a formal disciplinary action. …
Despite a number of laws in place to protect workers in an organisation, unreported sexual harassment is a regular occurence. How do you know if you have been sexually harassed and what you must do if you think you are being sexually harassed at work. Is there anyone you can turn to for help? What is sexual harassment? Any kind of behaviour, which is sexual in nature and not welcomed …
Valentine’s Day at work can often feel awkward. However, celebrating the holiday too enthusiastically can sometimes could lead to at best toe curling outcomes and at worst being fired. What is sexual harassment? Any behaviour, which is sexual in nature and not welcomed by the person on the receiving end of it can be referred as sexual harassment. The harassment can be verbal, physical as well as non-verbal. If you …
It is not news that pregnant women and parents, who are returning to work following parental leave, are often a victim of discrimination in various forms. A new law proposed by the UK government, pregnant women and new parents will now receive greater protection from redundancy and other forms of discriminations. The government has proposed extending a legal protection against redundancy for pregnant women for six months after their return …
The much discussed case of Hargreaves vs Manchester Grammar serves as a useful reminder for employers of the importance of a well conducted and responsible investigation, especially where the employee in question is facing consequences which may alter his career due to said allegations. In this case, the Employment Tribunal decided that it was reasonable for an employer to refuse to provide certain evidences of potential witness who had “seen …
In July 2013, a begrudged Morrisons employee, who posted staff data on the internet was jailed for eight years and found guilty of fraud. Andrew Skelton, 43, leaked details of nearly 100,000 supermarket staff following an accusation of dealing in legal highs at work. He tried to cover his tracks by setting up a fake email account using a colleague’s details. Skelton abused his position as a senior internal auditor …
As the new year, 2019 unfolds the employment sector in the UK witnesses an unusual “landmark discrimination case” concerning whether veganism should be considered a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. Jordi Casamitjana was sacked by the League Against Cruel Sports citing gross misconduct after he disclosed that his employers had invested pension funds in firms that were involved in animal testing. In his statement, Casamitjana claims that he …
