Covert recordings: does the end justify the means? – 12 King’s Bench Walk

‘Covert recording is featuring increasingly in both employment and personal injury law – and the ramifications of recent decisions are yet to be fully played out. Two recent cases consider the issue from both sides in the workplace; Phoenix, featured covert recording by an employee and López considered covert surveillance by employers.’

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12 King's Bench Walk, 25th March 2020

Source: www.12kbw.co.uk

Covid-19: Pay for working parents forced to look after their children – Cloisters

Posted April 3rd, 2020 in chambers articles, children, coronavirus, employment, families, news, remuneration by sally

‘Employers are making difficult choices at this time in situations which have never affected their workplaces before. Employment lawyers are having to advise in a context where the landscape is changing day by day. As fresh guidance is issued and new headlines emerge, the next legal queries evolve.’

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Cloisters, 27th March 2020

Source: www.cloisters.com

Covid-19: Furlough and job retention: Key issues for Employment Lawyers – Cloisters

Posted April 3rd, 2020 in chambers articles, coronavirus, employment, news, redundancy, remuneration by sally

‘Employers are making difficult choices at this time in situations which have never affected their workplaces before. As fresh guidance is issued and new headlines emerge, the next legal queries evolve.’

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Cloisters, 30th March 2020

Source: www.cloisters.com

Barclays not liable for alleged sexual assaults during medicals, court rules – The Guardian

‘Barclays is not liable for the alleged sexual assault of more than 100 patients by a doctor carrying out medicals on the bank’s behalf, the supreme court has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 1st April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Whistleblowing: how easy is it to make a qualifying disclosure? – St John’s Buildings

‘It is generally assumed that the threshold for a statement made by a worker to qualify for whistleblowing protection is not high. After all, the information provided need only ‘tend’ to show, in the ‘reasonable belief’ of the worker that one of the wrongs identified in s.43B Employment Rights Act 1996 is being, has been, or will be committed. Often therefore, an unfair dismissal, or detriment, claim will proceed on the basis, without more, that the worker told the employer something to do with health and safety (or legal obligation or crime etc.). A deeper analysis of the s.43B requirements shows that qualification for protection is not as simple as first appears.’

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St John's Buildings, March 2020

Source: stjohnsbuildings.com

Head of legal nets fresh employment hearing after tribunal member found to be asleep – Local Government Lawyer

‘A council head of legal secured a fresh Employment Tribunal hearing because a member of the original tribunal was asleep for part of the proceedings, it has emerged.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Furlough and lay-off against the background of Covid-19 / Coronavirus – 4 New Square

‘A new term has entered the employment lexicon: furloughing. What does it mean and how does it relate to the longer established concept of laying-off? Are employers better placed to take advantage of the government’s scheme for paying furloughed employees or to consider laying off their staff or making them redundant?’

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4 New Square, 25th March 2020

Source: www.4newsquare.com

Divisional Court to consider application for suspension of ‘no recourse to public funds’ policy – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Divisional Court will this week (3 April) consider whether to suspend the Home Office’s ‘no recourse to public funds’ (NRPF) policy.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th March 2020

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Employee monitoring and surveillance: Barclays calls ‘time’ on its time-tracking of employees – The 36 Group

‘Employee monitoring and surveillance can be a thorny issue. Some monitoring of employee activity may be required for reasons of security or to protect an employer’s resources from abuse. However, while an employer may justify a monitoring measure on the basis of economic imperative, it could also be viewed by its employees, the public or the courts as unjustified snooping.’

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The 36 Group, 12th March 2020

Source: 36group.co.uk

Covid-19 Sample Couriers ‘Denied Face Masks’ Take Legal Action – Each Other

‘Couriers transporting Covid-19 samples across London are taking legal action against their employer over claims they are being denied hand sanitiser and face masks.’

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Each Other, 26th March 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

The Maya Forstater case and so-called ‘gender critical’ feminism: what was actually decided and what does it reveal about UK discrimination law? – Oxford Human Rights Hub

‘In Forstater v CGD (2019), a think tank did not renew its contract for consultancy services with the claimant, Maya Forstater, allegedly because of Forstater expressing so-called ‘gender critical’ beliefs. Forstater claimed that she had suffered direct discrimination for having a protected belief under section 10 of the Equality Act 2010. In a preliminary decision, the employment tribunal considered whether the claimant’s belief was indeed protected. Tayler J identified the core of the claimant’s belief to be that sex is biologically immutable and, in no circumstances, is a trans woman ‘a woman’ or a trans man ‘a man’, even when the person in question has a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 (paragraph [77]). Due to the belief’s ‘no circumstances’ aspect, the judge labelled it ‘absolutist’ ([84]).’

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Oxford Human Rights Hub, 22nd March 2020

Source: ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk

Coronavirus: What Are My Employment Rights? – Each Other

Posted March 26th, 2020 in coronavirus, employment, health, health & safety, news, remuneration, sick leave by sally

‘With the UK now in coronavirus lockdown, many people will be anxious about their right to stay at home and their right to get paid. Lawyer Alex Monaco answers a selection of frequently asked questions on your employment rights.’

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Each Other, 25th March 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Illegality and separating a PD from an underlying dispute – 3PB

‘Tracey Robinson (‘C’) was hired by Mr Cathcart on behalf of the Crown Prince Ras-alKhaimah (‘the Sheikh’) in 2007 to carry out a number of duties including looking after the Sheikh’s children and properties in the UK. The contract clearly stipulated that C was responsible for paying her own tax.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Crown prosecutor with PTSD was not discrimination victim – Legal Futures

‘An experienced Crown prosecutor who resigned after developing post-traumatic stress order (PTSD) from being threatened at a magistrates’ court was not discriminated against, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 26th March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Whistle-blowers Beware: Just because there is a PD doesn’t necessarily mean that the employer can’t respond (and damage your reputation) in order to ‘set the record straight’ – 3PB

‘Edwin Jesudason (‘C’), was a paediatric surgeon who was an honorary consultant working in the Department of Paediatric Surgery (‘DPS’) in the respondent NHS trust from 2006 until he resigned in 2012. Between 2009 and 2014 he made a series of allegations to the Trust, regulatory bodies and the media where he alleged fundamental failings in the operation of the DPS including serious allegations of professional incompetence, use of improper medical practices, attempts to cover up wrongdoing and in some cases he named and criticised specific individuals.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Whistle-blowers Beware: Just because there is a PD doesn’t necessarily mean that the employer can’t respond (and damage your reputation) in order to ‘set the record straight’ – 3PB

‘Edwin Jesudason (‘C’), was a paediatric surgeon who was an honorary consultant working in the Department of Paediatric Surgery (‘DPS’) in the respondent NHS trust from 2006 until he resigned in 2012. Between 2009 and 2014 he made a series of allegations to the Trust, regulatory bodies and the media where he alleged fundamental failings in the operation of the DPS including serious allegations of professional incompetence, use of improper medical practices, attempts to cover up wrongdoing and in some cases he named and criticised specific individuals.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

McNeil v HMRC- Old Square Chambers

‘This case concerned an equal pay claim brought by several women employed by HMRC. The pay system implemented by HMRC in respect of the claimants was one which employees moved through the pay band for their grade, from a fixed minimum up to a fixed maximum, by different amounts each year, without any fixed increments but with the amount of any increase depending on the pay award for the particular year. As a result of the way this system operated, one factor relevant to where an employee was within the band, was length of service: the longer an employee had been employed in the band, the more opportunities s/he would have had to move up towards the maximum.’

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Old Square Chambers, 12th March 2020

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk

Can a one-off decision amount to a PCP? Generally not, unless it can be shown that the decision, act or omission relied upon would be the same in a similar situation, says the Court of Appeal in Ishola v Transport for London [2020] EWCA Civ 112 – 3PB

‘Mr Ishola was employed by the respondent (TfL) as a customer services administrator. He was at all material times a disabled person suffering with depression and migraines. He raised a grievance about the conduct of a colleague in April 2015 which was not upheld, shortly after which he went on long-term sick leave. The sickness absence was managed by the respondent through a process of referrals to occupational health doctors and management review meetings. Ms Bhaimia was appointed as the “People Management Adviser” (or PMA) responsible for dealing with the claimant. The task of managing his absence on sick leave was given to Mr Walters.’

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3PB, 2nd March 2020

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

Coronavirus: Union To Sue Government Over ‘Failure To Protect Precarious Workers’ – Each Other

‘The UK government is facing a legal challenge over claims it is failing to protect the wages and jobs of millions of workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.’

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Each Other, 23rd March 2020

Source: eachother.org.uk

Government identifies justice system’s keyworkers – Legal Futures

‘Legal professionals involved in court and tribunal hearings, as well as those advising people deprived of their liberty or on executing wills are ‘keyworkers’, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has said.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd March 2020

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk