Preserving your right to claim elsewhere: new rule 52 – No. 5 Chambers

Posted September 19th, 2013 in courts, employment tribunals, estoppel, news, regulations, tribunals by sally

“Charles Crow considers how Claimants can move their cases between the Tribunal and the Court without getting caught by the doctrine of estoppel.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 16th September 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Cautionary Note for Employers – Victimisation – No. 5 Chambers

Posted September 19th, 2013 in appeals, employment, employment tribunals, news, victimisation by sally

“The recent unreported decision of the EAT in Woodhouse v West North West Homes Ltd 2013 UKEAT 0007_12_0506 is likely to limit the extent to which employers can draw a parallel with the case of Martin v Devonshire Solicitors [2011] ICR 352 when dealing with serial complainants/litigants on a proscribed ground.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 16th September 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Change to UK collective redundancy laws “inevitable”, says expert, as Government granted leave to appeal Woolworths case – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 18th, 2013 in appeals, consultations, EC law, employment tribunals, news, redundancy by sally

“The Government is not guaranteed a ‘favourable outcome’ in its appeal of a tribunal’s finding that consultation requirements under the collective redundancy rules were triggered when retailers made redundancies in multiple shops, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 17th September 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Union activists awarded compensation after being cleared of racism over leaflet – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 12th, 2013 in compensation, employment tribunals, news, racism, trade unions by tracey

“Four senior members of Unison have been awarded almost £50,000 in compensation after a panel ruled their use of a cartoon of a 17th century proverb on leaflets was not racist.”

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Daily Telegraph, 11th September 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Howell’s School, Denbigh: Dismissed Bernie Routledge awarded £217,000 – BBC News

Posted September 11th, 2013 in compensation, education, employment tribunals, news, unfair dismissal by tracey

“A former head teacher of a private girls’ school in Denbighshire has been awarded £216,898 for unfair dismissal.”

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BBC News, 11th September 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

EAT: Tribunals can take post-termination activity into account when deciding on an unfair dismissal award – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 20th, 2013 in appeals, compensation, employment tribunals, news, unfair dismissal by tracey

“Employment tribunals can take a former employee’s post-termination conduct into account when calculating the compensation to be awarded for a successful unfair dismissal claim, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).”

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OUT-LAW.com, 19th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Employee data sought in connection with potential tribunal cases must generally be handed over, says ICO – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 9th, 2013 in codes of practice, data protection, disclosure, employment tribunals, news by sally

“Businesses cannot refuse to hand over records containing employees’ personal information just because they suspect the information could be used against them in an employment tribunal, the UK’s data protection watchdog has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 9th August 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Legal challenge to zero hours contracts launched against Sports Direct – The Independent

“A legal challenge is being brought against retail giant Sports Direct over the use of zero hours contracts among its staff.”

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The Independent, 7th August 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Countess fired housekeeper over pregnancy, tribunal told – The Guardian

Posted August 6th, 2013 in damages, employment tribunals, news, pregnancy, redundancy, unfair dismissal by sally

“Housekeeper at Surrey home of Maya Von Schoenburg, former wife of Mercedes-Benz heir, awarded £19,000 in damages.”

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The Guardian, 5th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Sud v Ealing London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Sud v Ealing London Borough Council [2013] EWCA Civ 949; [2013] WLR (D) 320

“Although an award of costs against a paying party in the employment tribunal was an exceptional event, the tribunal should focus principally on the criteria established in rule 40 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2004. Where the tribunal concluded that the party’s conduct of the proceedings had been unreasonable it was necessary for the court to identify the particular unreasonable conduct, along with its effect. That was not a process that entailed a detailed or minute assessment, but instead the court should adopt a broad brush approach, against the background of the totality of the relevant circumstances.”

WLR Daily, 30th July 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court gives green light to school staff to bring equal pay claims – Local Government Lawyer

“The Supreme Court has allowed an appeal by a 251-strong group of female council employees and restored an Employment Tribunal decision that they could bring equal pay claims.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th June 2013

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

North and others (Appellants) v Dumfries and Galloway Council (Respondent) (Scotland) – Supreme Court

North and others (Appellants) v Dumfries and Galloway Council (Respondent) (Scotland) [2013] UKSC 45 | UKSC 2011/0046 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 26th June 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

UNISON applies for judicial review of employment tribunal fees – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 25th, 2013 in employment tribunals, judicial review, news, trade unions, tribunals, women by sally

“UNISON has applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to introduce employment tribunal fees from the end of next month, it has announced.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th June 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Unison to Judicially Review ‘Brutal’ Employment Tribunal Fees – UK Human Rights Blog

“News that Unison has applied for Judicial Review of the Government’s controversial plans to introduce fees in the Employment Tribunal has gone viral in the Labour Law community. A key theme in the application is access to justice for working people, particularly women.”

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UK Human Rights Blog, 21st June 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Migrant domestic workers – race discrimination and post-employment victimisation – No. 5 Chambers

“Onu v Akwiwu and others, UKEAT/0283/12/RN, UKEAT/0022/12/RN raises some interesting legal issues in a context where the need for justice may lead to an extension of the concept of race discrimination.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Watching You, Watching Me: The Admissibility of Covertly Obtained Evidence in Employment Tribunals – No. 5 Chambers

Posted June 18th, 2013 in appeals, employment tribunals, evidence, local government, news by sally

“Should employees – or employers – be able to use secretly taped recordings as evidence when bringing or defending claims in the Employment Tribunal? In the recent case of Vaughan v London Borough of Lewisham & Others [2013] UKEAT 0534_12_0102 the Employment Appeal Tribunal confirmed the long established position that the method in which the evidence has been obtained does not affect its relevance; and relevance is the guiding principle when determining whether evidence is admissible.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 – No. 5 Chambers

“The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 [‘ERRA’] received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013, bringing some significant changes to employment law and tribunal procedure. Gemma Roberts highlights the main reforms affecting employment tribunal, ACAS procedure and the changes to whistleblowing; Mugni Islam-Choudhury considers the amendments introduced to the Equality Act 2010.”

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No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Teaching assistant wins case after being sacked over contact with her paedophile son – Daily Telegraph

“A teaching assistant who was sacked from a primary school after refusing to sever ties with her sex offender son has been awarded £28,300 in compensation.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Hay and others v Gilgrove Ltd and another – WLR Daily

Hay and others v Gilgrove Ltd and another [2013] EWCA Civ 412; [2013] WLR (D) 220

“On the true construction of a collective agreement incorporated into the claimants’ contracts all who performed the role of a market porter, whether registered or unregistered, were entitled to share equally in ‘porterage’ charges made by the employer to customers for the movement of goods.”

WLR Daily, 26th April 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Devout Christian awarded £100k in Blu-Tack sexual harassment case – Daily Telegraph

“A council has been forced to pay a devout Christian more than £100,000 after colleagues stuck mini models of male genitalia made of Blu-Tack on her telephone.”

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Daily Telegraph, 7th June 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk