In 2018 the outcome of a range of UK employment law cases may have long term implications for whistle-blowers and their employers. Employees can be held liable personally for dismissal and other detriment According to the Court of Appeal in the case of Timis and Sage vs Osipov, the personal liability of a colleague for detriment caused to a whistleblower can extend to liability of dismissal. The …
In the much debated case, Cheshire police force rejected a potential employee just because he was white. The recruit was a well prepared candidate but was discriminated against because he was a heterosexual male. Son of a detective inspector in Cheshire Police, Matthew Furlong applied to join the police force, at the age of 23, in 2017. His father lodged a complaint when he lost to other candidates. The employment …
Most recently, art educators to the National Gallery to court and sought to be recognised as employees instead of freelance workers. This is a landmark case which has shifted the spotlight on the gig economy now into the realms of the public sector. The case A group of 27 artists and art lecturers were dismissed in October 2017 without any consultation, or benefits, and were classed as self-employed. Many of …
Recently an employment tribunal ruled that a group of courier workers for the delivery company Hermes are to be treated as workers instead of self-employed. The tribunal in Leeds decided that the drivers must also be entitled to basic rights of employment like national minimum wages and holiday pay. The decision The lawyers Leigh Day and GMB union, which represented the drivers of Hermes in the case, the decision affected …
What is flexible working? Flexible working is a kind of working pattern which differs from your existing work pattern. These differences can be on the basis of working arrangements and hence, may include the following: Changing from full time work to part time Changes in part time working hours, for instance, working on weekends to work on week days instead Changes in number of working hours Compressed hours; which means …
How can you be sure that your organisation follows a discrimination free decision making? A well updated equality and diversity policy manual, a fully trained workforce? But are these enough? Irrespective of the best efforts of employer, sometimes discrimination cases are unavoidable. A survey collated over the last 5 years, has found that while equality and diversity among the staff are some key concerns of corporate sector of UK, …
An employer’s unreasonable behaviour can lead to discrimination found the employment tribunal in the case of Tywyn Primary School vs Aplin. Background It was heard that Mr. Aplin, a 42-year-old gay head teacher, indulged in consensual sex with two 17-year-old males who he met online on a gay dating website. Following an investigation by the local authorities which found that there was neither a criminal offence committed nor was there …
The government of UK has recently passed an increase in protection for parents, especially pregnant women and new mothers. Women and Equalities committee asked for greater rights and protection for pregnant women and women on maternity leave back in 2016. It highlighted that since 2005, that the number of mothers and pregnant women forced to leave jobs had doubled. The committee had a range of recommendations for the government, giving …
During her time as Prime Minister, Teresa May, has said that Parliament will decide the appropriate rules regarding employment instead of accepting the EU changes automatically post Brexit. She supported this position in her statement, “When it comes to workers’ rights, this Parliament has set world-leading standards and will continue to do so in the future, taking its own decisions working closely with trade unions and businesses.” According to Dave …
The annual increase in compensation figures applicable to certain UK based employment tribunal claims have now been disclosed and come into effect from April 2019. There will be a significant increase in maximum compensation awarded by ET in an ordinary unfair dismissal claim along with maximum weekly wage figures to calculate the entitlement for an employee’s statutory redundancy payment for the upcoming year. The statutory rates of paternity, maternity, …