Category: employment tribunals

John Bowers QC’s Employment Law Blog: November – Littleton Chambers

Posted November 7th, 2019 in appeals, employment, employment tribunals, news, trade unions by sally

‘S145B of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidation Act 1992 (“the 1992 Act”) is an under explored provision which has only just received the attention of the Court of Appeal, and has only once been considered by the EAT. It is important because some 26.3% of UK workers remain subject to collective bargaining but many employers seek every year to decouple from collective agreements in one form or another wholly or in part to buttress the managerial prerogative.’

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Littleton Chambers, 4th November 2019

Source: www.littletonchambers.com

Bath Hill Court v Coletta [2019] EWCA CIV 1707 – Old Square Chambers

Posted October 30th, 2019 in appeals, compensation, employment tribunals, limitations, minimum wage, news, remuneration, statutory interpretation, time limits by sally

‘In an important decision, the Court of Appeal in Bath Hill Court v Coletta has held that, in an unauthorised deduction of wages claim for non payment of the national minimum wage in the ET, there is no backstop on the recovery of deductions, enabling Mr Coletta to claim 15 years’ worth of losses.’

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Old Square Chambers, 17th October 2019

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk

New law “to put more pressure” on solicitors’ NDA advice – Legal Futures

Posted October 30th, 2019 in contracts, costs, disciplinary procedures, drafting, employment, employment tribunals, enforcement, Law Society, news, non-disclosure agreements, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘A new law ensuring that employees signing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) receive independent legal advice will “increase the onus” on solicitors to act properly when drafting them, the government has said.’

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Legal Futures, 30th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Gilham v Ministry of Justice: A New Chapter in Employment Protection? – Cloisters

Posted October 29th, 2019 in budgets, bullying, employment tribunals, judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, whistleblowers by sally

‘The Supreme Court has delivered its decision in the landmark case of Gilham v Ministry of Justice. In conferring the right to pursue whistleblowing complaints on judges – and for that matter all office-holders – it has opened a new frontier for the role of the European Convention of Human Rights in employment disputes.’

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Cloisters, 16th October 2019

Source: www.cloisters.com

In-house lawyer cannot rely on leaked email for discrimination claim – Legal Futures

Posted October 23rd, 2019 in anonymity, appeals, disciplinary procedures, disclosure, electronic mail, employment tribunals, interpretation, news, privilege, redundancy, solicitors, unfair dismissal by tracey

‘A former senior in-house lawyer at Shell cannot rely on a leaked internal email or an overheard pub conversation in his discrimination claim against the company, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Whistleblowing judges: protected by human rights? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted October 21st, 2019 in appeals, budgets, courts, disclosure, employment, employment tribunals, freedom of expression, human rights, interpretation, judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, whistleblowers by sally

‘The UK Supreme Court has unanimously granted an appeal by a district judge against the Court of Appeal’s decision that she did not qualify as a “worker” under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (the “1996 Act”), and therefore could not benefit from the whistleblowing protections it conferred.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 18th October 2019

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Redacting solicitor’s comments to client was “cherry picking” – Litigation Futures

Posted October 16th, 2019 in disclosure, employment tribunals, news, pregnancy, privilege, unfair dismissal by sally

‘Redacting comments made by a company’s lawyer on a draft dismissal letter while disclosing other privileged documents was “impermissible cherry picking”, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled.’

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Litigation Futures, 15th October 2019

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

New Judgment: Gilham v Ministry of Justice [2019] UKSC 44 – UKSC Blog

Posted October 16th, 2019 in budgets, bullying, employment tribunals, judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, whistleblowers by sally

‘The issue in the appeal was whether a District Judge qualifies as a ‘worker’ or a ‘person in Crown employment’ for the purpose of the protection given to whistle-blowers under Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996. If not, was this discrimination against her in the enjoyment of her right to freedom of expression, protected by article 14 taken together with article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights?’

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UKSC Blog, 16th October 2019

Source: ukscblog.com

‘Whistleblowing’ judge wins landmark appeal at Supreme Court – BBC News

Posted October 16th, 2019 in budgets, bullying, employment tribunals, judges, judiciary, news, Supreme Court, whistleblowers by sally

‘A judge, who says she was bullied and had a breakdown after speaking out about government cuts, has won a landmark appeal at the Supreme Court.’

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BBC News, 16th October 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sexual discrimination ‘still a real issue’ in City financial firms – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2019 in employment tribunals, harassment, news, sex discrimination, women by tracey

‘The recent tribunal case brought by banker Stacey Macken shows that sexual discrimination remains a problem in London’s financial district, despite the shockwaves from the #MeToo movement.’

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The Guardian, 14th October 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tribunal rejects claims from ‘partner’ who sued as employee – Legal Futures

Posted October 9th, 2019 in damages, disability discrimination, documents, employment, employment tribunals, law firms, news, partnerships, pregnancy, sex discrimination, solicitors, unfair dismissal by sally

‘A former salaried partner, permitted by an employment tribunal earlier this year to sue her law firm as an employee, has lost all but one of her claims.’

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Legal Futures, 9th October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Christian doctor who refused to call transgender woman ‘she’ loses employment tribunal – The Independent

Posted October 3rd, 2019 in Christianity, doctors, employment tribunals, equality, freedom of expression, human rights, news, religious discrimination, transgender persons, unfair dismissal by tracey

‘A doctor who refused to call a transgender woman “she” because of his Christian faith has lost his employment tribunal.’

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The Independent, 3rd October 2019

Source: www.independent.co.uk

SRA “wrong” to sanction solicitor for nanny discrimination – Legal Futures

Posted October 2nd, 2019 in disciplinary procedures, employment tribunals, news, pregnancy, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority, unfair dismissal by sally

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) was wrong to sanction a senior finance partner at City giant Hogan Lovells for discriminating against his children’s pregnant nanny, a leading regulatory QC has said.’

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Legal Futures, 1st October 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Vegetarianism as a protected characteristic: another view on Conisbee – Law & Religion UK

Posted September 26th, 2019 in diversity, employment, employment tribunals, equality, human rights, news, vegetarianism by tracey

‘In Conisbee v Crossley Farms Ltd & Ors [2019] ET 3335357/2018, Employment Judge Postle gave a reserved judgment in which he found that the Claimant’s contention that vegetarianism could be a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 was not well-founded. The judgment has already been noted in this blog; in this supplementary post I will be focusing on the ET’s sharp distinction between vegetarianism and veganism, which it used – rashly – to find that ethical vegetarianism was incapable of constituting a religion or belief under the Equality Act 2010.’

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Law & Religion UK, 23rd September 2019

Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com

Paratroopers win Colchester barracks racial harassment claim – BBC News

Posted September 17th, 2019 in armed forces, employment tribunals, equality, harassment, news, race discrimination, racism by tracey

‘Two former British army soldiers have won a racial discrimination claim against the Ministry of Defence (MoD).’

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BBC News, 16th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Illegal work practices ‘far too common’ says think tank study – BBC News

Posted September 16th, 2019 in employment, employment tribunals, holiday pay, news, remuneration, reports, young persons by tracey

‘About one in 20 workers does not get paid holidays, while one in 10 does not get a payslip, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation think tank.’

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BBC News, 16th September 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Peter Herbert becomes first judge to sue MoJ over race discrimination – The Guardian

Posted September 13th, 2019 in employment tribunals, equality, judges, judiciary, Ministry of Justice, news, race discrimination, racism by tracey

‘A prominent judge has told an employment tribunal that race discrimination is a “significant problem” in the judiciary that it is causing “deep distress” to black and minority ethnic lawyers. Peter Herbert, the chair of the Society of Black Lawyers who sits as a crown court recorder and an immigration judge, is suing the Ministry of Justice for race discrimination after he was disciplined for a speech he gave in 2015.’

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The Guardian, 12th September 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com

Tribunal rejects solicitor’s “attempts at character assassination” – Legal Futures

Posted September 4th, 2019 in constructive dismissal, contracts, employment tribunals, news, solicitors by sally

‘A solicitor who resigned without notice was in breach of contract, an employment tribunal has ruled after finding that it was not a case of constructive dismissal.’

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Legal Futures, 4th September 2019

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Facebook postings and vicarious liability of employers – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 30th, 2019 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, employment, employment tribunals, equality, harassment, internet, news, racism, vicarious liability by sally

‘Charles Pigott examines an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that racially offensive Facebook posting was not done in the course of employment.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th August 2019

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Public sector to launch ‘mass legal battle’ over pension reforms – The Guardian

Posted August 28th, 2019 in age discrimination, appeals, class actions, doctors, employment tribunals, fire services, judiciary, news, pensions, race discrimination, sex discrimination, Supreme Court, teachers by tracey

‘Mass legal claims on behalf of teachers and doctors alleging that changes to their pensions in 2015 were discriminatory are being launched against the government.’

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The Guardian, 27th August 2019

Source: www.theguardian.com