The Skilled Worker Route – What’s Changing? – Richmond Chambers

Posted November 17th, 2020 in employment, immigration, news, remuneration, visas by sally

‘The Skilled Worker Route will open to new applications on 1 December 2020, replacing the Tier 2 (General) route which will close on the same day.’

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Richmond Chambers, 9th November 2020

Source: immigrationbarrister.co.uk

Sacked Treasury adviser settles unfair dismissal claim – BBC News

‘A special advisor who was escorted out of Downing Street by police after a confrontation with Dominic Cummings has settled her unfair dismissal claim.’

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BBC News, 13th November 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Does the failure to place a redundant employee on an existing “bank” workers list render a dismissal unfair? – 3PB

‘It was common ground between the parties that the claimant had been dismissed for a fair reason, namely redundancy. The point of contention arose from the fact that, at point of dismissal, the respondent had in place a list of workers upon whom it would call upon to
undertake adhoc work as and when needed.’

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3PB, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

The Illegality Defence in the Supreme Court again – Littleton Chambers

‘The common law defence of illegality was considered by the Supreme Court in Patel v Mirza [2016] UKSC 42. The Court rejected the reliance principle as applied in Tinsley v Milligan [1994] 1 AC 340, according to which relief was refused to parties who had to rely on their own illegality to establish their case. In its place, the majority adopted a more flexible approach which openly addressed the underlying policy considerations involved and invited Courts to reach a balanced judgment in each case, permitting account to be taken of the proportionality of the outcome.’

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Littleton Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: littletonchambers.com

Disability, Delusions and Definitions – Parklane Plowden

‘Employees that suffer from a disability so defined are protected against various forms of discrimination because of that status. Employers facing claims of such discrimination must assess whether a Tribunal will find that the employee was in fact, during the relevant period, disabled and, if so, whether it knew or reasonably ought to have known of that fact. It is common for employers to concede the fact of disability.’

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Parklane Plowden Chambers, 4th November 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

The Self-Isolation Regulations: Implications for Employers – Henderson Chambers

Posted November 10th, 2020 in coronavirus, employment, health, news, penalties, regulations by sally

‘The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1045 (“the Self-Isolation Regulations”) are the latest in a series of statutory instruments which have, since March 2020, been introduced by UK Government Ministers under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 (“the 1984 Act”) in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This Alerter highlights the implications for employers.’

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Henderson Chambers, 9th October 2020

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Homeworking now a “reasonable adjustment” for disabled lawyers – Legal Futures

‘Employment tribunals may in future need to recognise that homeworking has become an established “reasonable adjustment” to working practices for disabled people, including lawyers, a webinar heard last week.’

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Legal Futures, 9th November 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Covid-19 prompts UK call for statutory paid bereavement leave – The Guardian

Posted November 9th, 2020 in bereavement, bills, charities, coronavirus, employment, families, news by sally

‘People who lose a close relative or partner should be entitled to two weeks’ statutory paid bereavement leave, the Sue Ryder charity has said.’

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The Guardian, 9th November 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Data protection – ICO’s new guidance on data subject access requests – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 6th, 2020 in codes of practice, data protection, employment, news by tracey

‘Leanne Francis comments on the ICO’s new guidance on handling data subject access requests from employees.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 5th November 2020

Source: www.pinsentmasons.com

Novation, step-in and a potential problem with CIGA 2020 – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted November 4th, 2020 in construction industry, contracts, employment, insolvency, news by tracey

‘Where the contractor has become insolvent, what obligations can an employer enforce when stepping-in to a previously novated professional consultant’s appointment in a design and build scenario?’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 3rd November 2020

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Is there a different burden of proof in relation to misconduct cases in which there is a possibility that an employee who works with children may pose a danger? No, says the EAT in K v L UKEAT/0014/18/JW – 3PB

‘The Claimant had been employed by the respondents for 20 years as a teacher. On 30th December 2016 the Police entered his property having been granted a warrant to search for and seize computers in the possession of the Claimant. The warrant was based on intelligence that indecent images of a child or children had been downloaded to an IP address associated with the Claimant. The Claimant lived at the address with his son. One of the computers was found to have data that was of interest to the Police.’

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3PB, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Female lawyers anxious over disproportionate impact of Covid – Legal Futures

‘Almost a quarter of women in the profession have not seen their incomes return to pre-Covid levels with one in five still on less than their previous working hours, a survey has found.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd October 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Furlough and administration: when is a contract of employment ‘adopted’? – Exchange Chambers

‘The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the scheme) has been ground breaking for employers, employees and administrators of insolvent companies, each of whom have swiftly adjusted to the practical and commercial effects of the scheme. The scheme very quickly gave rise to applications to the High Court, by administrators of high-profile companies, for directions as to whether a contract of employment of a “furloughed employee” had been “adopted” by an administrator. If it was, the “wages or salary” (which are defined by paragraph 99(6) of schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (the Act) to include holiday pay and sick pay) would have super-priority over (a) the administrators’ remuneration and (b) a floating charge, under paragraph 99(3) and (4) of schedule B1 of the Act.’

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Exchange Chambers, 13th October 2020

Source: www.exchangechambers.co.uk

Post-furlough redundancies: ‘It is important that workers know their rights’ – St Philips Barristers

Posted October 21st, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, employment, news, redundancy by sally

‘The coronavirus pandemic has caused a wealth of uncertainty for both employers and employees.’

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St Philips Barristers, 15th October 2020

Source: st-philips.com

Brian Napier QC on Remote Working and Employment Rights – Cloisters

Posted October 21st, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, employment, flexible working, news by sally

‘Recent events have shown both the scope the internet offers for working away from the office, and the readiness of many employers to contemplate such a change in the working patterns of their white-collar staff. While there are many reservations about the net benefits of remote working (not least because of the impact it has on inner-city businesses struggling to survive with a reduced customer base), there are indications that a fairly major shift in practice is taking place.’

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Cloisters, 9th October 2020

Source: www.cloisters.com

Inquest rules heading heavy leather balls ‘a factor’ in death of Alan Jarvis – The Guardian

Posted October 16th, 2020 in employment, industrial injuries, inquests, news, psychiatric damage, sport by sally

‘A former Wales international footballer who developed dementia had died after heading heavy leather balls during his career, an inquest heard on Thursday.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

UK ‘unique in its light-touch approach’ to gender pay gap – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2020 in employment, equality, gender, government departments, news, remuneration, women by sally

‘The UK is “unique in its light-touch approach” in not requiring private employers to produce a plan to tackle gender pay gaps, a report has found.’

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The Guardian, 14th October 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Non-binary/gender fluid claimants – Law Society’s Gazette

‘On 14 September 2020, the employment tribunal ruled that the gender reassignment protections afforded by section 7 of the Equality Act 2010 should be read to include those who identify as non-binary and/or gender fluid.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 12th October 2020

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Data protection challenges of remote working – Local Government Lawyer

‘Samantha Smith looks at how organisations can handle the data protection challenges of remote working.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 2nd October 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Westergate primary school snooping-accused teacher cleared – BBC News

Posted September 30th, 2020 in computer crime, electronic mail, employment, holidays, news, privacy, teachers by sally

‘A teacher who spoke out about alleged “overgrading” of pupils’ work has been cleared of snooping on her colleagues’ emails.’

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BBC News, 29th September 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk