Employment tribunal hearing first claim for caste discrimination collapses – The Guardian

“An employment tribunal hearing the first claim for unfair dismissal on the grounds of caste discrimination has collapsed after information handed to the judge by police led the judge to recuse herself from the case.”

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The Guardian, 14th February 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Justice for dinner lady who told of school bullying – Daily Telegraph

“A school dinner lady who was unfairly sacked after telling a seven-year-old girl’s parents that their daughter had been tied to a fence and hit with a skipping rope has won her two-year battle for compensation.”

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Daily Telegraph, 12th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

O’Brien (Appellant) v Ministry of Justice (Formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) (Respondents) – Supreme Court

O’Brien (Appellant) v Ministry of Justice (Formerly the Department for Constitutional Affairs) (Respondents) [2013] UKSC 6 | UKSC 2012/0168 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 6th February 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

O’Cathail v Transport for London – WLR Daily

Posted January 31st, 2013 in adjournment, appeals, civil justice, employment tribunals, law reports by sally

O’Cathail v Transport for London [2013] EWCA Civ 21; [2013] WLR (D) 31

“An employment tribunal’s decision to refuse a claimant’s application to adjourn a hearing could not be set aside by the Employment Appeal Tribunal unless the tribunal had erred in law.”

WLR Daily, 29th January 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Judge says £420,000 racism claim can stand, after 13 years of ‘Dickensian’ wrangling – Daily Telegraph

“A race equality campaigner who won £420,000 compensation after a council-funded anti-racism group turned her down for a job has emerged victorious from a “Dickensian” court battle – at the ultimate expense of the public purse.”

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Daily Telegraph, 29th January 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Why government reforms on employment law make little sense – Law Society’s Gazette

“There were some statistics that private equity pioneer Adrian Beecroft did not include in his highly controversial report on employment law published last year. The number of claims brought by employees in employment tribunals fell from 236,000 in 2009-10 to 186,000 in 2011-12. The number of claims for both sex and age discrimination has almost halved. And the median award for most types of claim remains low, at around £5,000 (two months’ average pay). Given that these figures relate to a period of acute economic turbulence, they are counterintuitive.”

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Law Society’s Gazette, 28th January 2013

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Police officers sue forces over forced retirement – BBC News

Posted January 24th, 2013 in age discrimination, employment tribunals, news, police, retirement by sally

“Five police forces are to be taken to an employment tribunal accused of age discrimination.”

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BBC News, 23rd January 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Sunday working case does not establish that all religious discrimination claims will fail – OUT-LAW.com

“A tribunal’s refusal to allow the constructive dismissal claim of a Christian care worker who was required to work on Sundays does not establish that Sunday working will never amount to indirect religious discrimination, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 14th January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

How the workplace will change in 2013 – OUT-LAW.com

“What changes can workers expect from their employers in the coming year? Employment law expert Edward Goodwyn of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, looks ahead to some significant changes.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 4th January 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Philosophy, theology and service provision change – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted December 4th, 2012 in employment, employment tribunals, news, transfer of undertakings by sally

“As employment lawyers will know, in order to determine whether there is going to be (or has been) a service provision change (SPC) under Regulation 3 of TUPE Regulations 2006 it is necessary to subject the material facts to a number of tests. These should be carried out in a logical order starting with an examination of the relevant activities to decide whether those activities to be carried out after any SPC are fundamentally or essentially the same as those carried out before. Then one must check whether the conditions in Reg 3(3) are satisfied.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 28th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Equal pay claims: should equal pay claims be brought in an ordinary court? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted November 20th, 2012 in courts, employment tribunals, equal pay, news, time limits by sally

“As Harvey points out in Division K, there have been inconsistent decisions over the last year on whether equal pay claims can be brought in an ordinary court, the obvious point being that in a tribunal a claimant must claim within six months of leaving the employment whereas in a court action the limitation period would be six years.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 19th November 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

EAT provides clarity on what it means to provide a “short-term” service – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 15th, 2012 in appeals, employment tribunals, news, transfer of undertakings by sally

“A contract for a ‘single specific event’ need not necessarily be of ‘short-term duration’ to prevent workers being caught by regulations governing the employment rights and status of a particular worker when there is a change in service provider, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th November 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Why church staff are keeping an eye on lap dancer ruling – The Independent

Posted November 14th, 2012 in appeals, employment tribunals, news, self-employment, unfair dismissal by sally

“A lap dancer who wants to make an unfair dismissal claim is waiting to hear whether she has won a legal fight with a firm that runs ‘gentlemen’s clubs’.”

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The Independent, 13th November 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Hudson v Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions – WLR Daily

Hudson v Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions [2012] EWCA Civ 1416; [2012] WLR (D) 312

“Fixed-term contracts by which an employee worked on a government scheme regardless of when the scheme began or ended could not be included in any calculation of four years’ continuous employment which would otherwise allow a fixed-term employee to become a permanent employee.”

WLR Daily, 7th November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Assignment & Organised Grouping: Where Does The Law Currently Stand? – Hardwicke Chambers

“This paper concerns part of TUPE1 regulation 4(1) and regulation 3(3)(a). There’s a summary of the main points at the end of it, on page 7.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 2nd November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Apparent Bias – Employment Law Blog

Posted November 5th, 2012 in bias, employment tribunals, news, race discrimination by sally

“In Bhardwaj v First Division Association and others, UKEAT/ 0157 & 0158/11/2T, Judgment on 1 November 2012, the EAT (Wilkie J presiding) held that, although one of the circumstances complained of may have required the ET members to have recused themselves on grounds of ‘apparent bias’, had such an application been made, in fact, the agreement of the parties, including the Appellant, that the hearing should continue, notwithstanding the revelation of those circumstances, was effective to act as a waiver of any such ‘apparent bias’ and so the hearing of the claims by the ET, as then constituted, was lawful and effective.”

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Employment Law Blog, 2nd November 2012

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Abdulla and others v Birmingham City Council – WLR Daily

Abdulla and others v Birmingham City Council [2012] UKSC 47; [2012] WLR (D) 294

“A claim in respect of the operation of an equality clause in a contract of employment could never more conveniently be disposed of by an employment tribunal, rather than a court, if the tribunal would not be able to determine the claim on its merits because the limitation period applicable in the tribunal had expired.”

WLR Daily, 24th October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Companies should consider intention behind allowances after Supreme Court ruling on holiday pay says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 22nd, 2012 in employment tribunals, holiday pay, news, Supreme Court by sally

“Employers must consider the intention behind payments made on top of an employee’s basic pay following the Supreme Court’s ruling that pilots should be paid their ‘normal remuneration’ during their four weeks’ statutory annual leave, an expert has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Weekend court plans in ‘chaos’ – LegalVoice

“Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to pilot Sunday magistrates’ courts have been hit by a technical hitch after prisons said they could not accept new prisoners on that day, writes Elizabeth Davidson. However, its pilot of full-day Saturday courts is still on schedule to begin in the Manchester area this weekend, despite vocal opposition from local criminal lawyers, some of whom claim taking part could leave them vulnerable to expensive employment tribunal claims.”

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LegalVoice, 27th September 2012

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Tribunal cannot take additional material into account when deciding whether dismissal was fair – OUT-LAW.com

Posted September 25th, 2012 in employment tribunals, evidence, news, unfair dismissal by sally

“A tribunal cannot rely on additional matters not taken into account by an employer when deciding whether a dismissal is fair, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 24th September 2012

Source: www.out-law.com