Proving and disproving discrimination – Cloisters

Posted January 29th, 2014 in burden of proof, employment, equality, harassment, news by sally

‘This talk looks at the legal and practical tools available to employment lawyers to prove or disprove direct discrimination and harassment, exploring in particular three areas:

a. How judges apply the burden of proof s136(2)(3) EA 2010
b. What is the role of Comparators in light of the Supreme Court decision of Hewage v Grampian Health Board [2012] ICR 1054, SC
c. What role does knowledge of the protected characteristic now play in light of IPC Media Ltd v Millar [2013] IRLR 707.’

Full story (PDF)

Cloisters, 14th January 2014

Source: www.cloisters.com

Regina (Boots Management Services Ltd) v Central Arbitration Committee – WLR Daily

Regina (Boots Management Services Ltd) v Central Arbitration Committee [2014] EWHC 65 (Admin); [2014] WLR (D) 25

‘The right guaranteed by article 11 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of individuals to form and to join trade unions for the protection of their interests encompassed the right to engage in collective bargaining relating to the terms and conditions of employment of a particular group of workers.’

WLR Daily, 22nd January 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Final TUPE amendment regulations provide “welcome clarification”, but uncertainties remain, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

Posted January 16th, 2014 in contract of employment, employment, news, redundancy, regulations, trade unions by tracey

‘Companies can now start “looking in earnest” at how to make changes to the regime governing protections for employees transferring to a new employer after the publication of final regulations clarified some outstanding questions about the new regime, an expert has said.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Government rules out ban on zero hours contracts, but seeks views on exclusivity clauses – OUT-LAW.com

Posted December 20th, 2013 in consultations, contract of employment, employment, news by tracey

‘Companies could be banned from preventing workers on “zero hours” contracts from working for another company, under proposals put forward by the Government.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 20th December 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Sunday is not a day of rest: Christian discrimination appeal dismissed – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘The Employment Tribunal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal and now the Court of Appeal have all agreed that an employer was justified in requiring a Christian to work on Sundays in Mba v London Borough of Merton.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 17th December 2013

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Carratù v Poste Italiane SpA – WLR Daily

Posted December 16th, 2013 in compensation, EC law, employment, fixed-term contracts, law reports by sally

Carratù v Poste Italiane SpA (Case C-361/12); [2013] WLR (D) 490

‘Clause 4(1) of the Framework agreement on fixed term work, annexed to Council Directive 1999/70/EC, could be relied on directly against a state body. The concept of “employment conditions” in clause 4(1) covered the compensation that the employer had pay to an employee on account of the unlawful insertion of a fixed-term clause into his employment contract but did not require the compensation paid in respect of the unlawful insertion of a fixed-term clause into an employment relationship to be treated in the same way as that paid in respect of the unlawful termination of a permanent employment relationship.’

WLR Daily, 12th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Lawyers want whistleblowing rules simplified – No. 5 Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2013 in employment, legal profession, news, whistleblowers by sally

‘The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) has called for changes to the law on whistleblowing.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 4th December 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Government publishes TUPE amendment regulations – No. 5 Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2013 in employment, news, redundancy, regulations, transfer of undertakings by sally

‘As predicted in our autumn newsletter, the Government has now published its proposed amendments to TUPE.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 4th December 2013

Source: www.no5.com

Back & forth – New Law Journal

Posted December 12th, 2013 in employment, employment tribunals, fees, news, redundancy, tribunals by sally

‘Chris Bryden & Michael Salter discuss some of the key developments of 2013 & share a few predictions.’

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New Law Journal, 11th December 2013

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Tribunal wrong on Sunday working decision, but forcing care assistant to work was proportionate, court rules – OUT-LAW.com

‘An employment tribunal was wrong to conclude that refusing to work on a Sunday for religious reasons should not be protected under discrimination law, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 10th December 2013

Source: www.out-law.com

Smith v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change – WLR Daily

Smith v Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change [2013] EWCA Civ 1585; [2013] WLR (D) 473

‘In order for the court to have jurisdiction to make an order under CPR r 31.16 for disclosure before proceedings had started, it was not a requirement that the applicant have an arguable case in those proceedings.’

WLR Daily, 5th December 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Mba, Article 9 and Indirect Discrimination – Employment Law Blog

‘Ms Eweida, you may recall, is the British Airways employee who wanted to wear a cross on a necklace over her uniform so that others could see it. She considered that that was a religious belief. Over-simplifying, doing what she wanted to do meant a breach of her employer’s dress code. Ms Eweida complained that, amongst other things, she was the victim of an act of indirect discrimination.’

Full story

Employment Law Blog, 5th December 2013

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

Christian care worker loses Sunday working discrimination appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted December 6th, 2013 in appeals, care workers, Christianity, employment, news, Sunday trading by tracey

‘Mba v London Borough Of Merton [2013] EWCA Civ 1562. The Court of Appeal has dismissed the appeal of a Christian care worker against the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that a requirement that she work on Sundays indirectly discriminated against her on the grounds of religion or belief.’

Full story

Uk Human Rights Blog, 5th December 2013

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Christian Celestina Mba loses Sunday shifts appeal – BBC News

‘A Christian care worker who claimed she was forced to leave her job after refusing to work Sundays because of her faith has lost her legal appeal.’

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BBC News, 5th December 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Timpson – Repairing Offenders’ Lives – Criminal Law and Justice Weekly

Posted December 4th, 2013 in employment, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, recidivists, rehabilitation, statistics by sally

‘John Timpson hopes more employers will follow in his footsteps and give ex-offenders a second chance.’

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Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 29th November 2013

Source: www.criminallawandjustice.co.uk

Gomes Viana Novo and others v Fundo de Garantia Salarial IP (Wage Guarantee Fund) – WLR Daily

Posted December 4th, 2013 in EC law, employment, enforcement, insolvency, law reports, remuneration by sally

Gomes Viana Novo and others v Fundo de Garantia Salarial IP (Wage Guarantee Fund) (Case C‑309/12); [2013] WLR (D) 465

‘Council Directive 80/987/EEC of 20 October 1980 relating to the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer (as amended by Parliament and Council Directive 2002/74/EC of 23 September 2002) did not preclude national legislation which did not guarantee wage claims falling due more than six months before the commencement of an action seeking a declaration that the employer was insolvent, even where the workers initiated, prior to the start of that period, legal proceedings against their employer with a view to obtaining a determination of the amount of those claims and an enforcement order to recover those sums.’

WLR Daily, 28th November 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Sitting in the garden may be pleasant but it’s no holiday – Hardwicke Chambers

‘For a case about garden leave, the apparently aptly named (the irony comes later) employee was a Mr Holliday. He is a stockbroker. On 5 July 2013 he gave notice to his employers that he was intending to leave to join a competitor. On 10 July 2013 he was placed on garden leave. The contract under which he worked had been amended in 2008. It provided for 12 months garden leave on notice to terminate being given. At the same time, his salary was tripled from £40,000 to £120,000 per year. He had an exit interview on 29 July 2013, the purpose of which was to ensure he understood the conditions of his garden leave.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 22nd November 2013

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

New fathers win right to share a year of parental leave – The Guardian

Posted November 29th, 2013 in employment, news, parental rights by sally

“Men are too often mocked in the work place for wanting to go part time or leaving early to pick up their children, the Liberal Democrat equalities minister has said, as she announced detailed plans for new mums and dads to share a year of parental leave after the birth of a child.”

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The Guardian, 29th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

ETO Exception Established under TUPE despite the “Subjective Fact-Intensive Analysis” Still Required – Employment Law Blog

Posted November 28th, 2013 in appeals, defences, employment, news, regulations, transfer of undertakings by tracey

‘Harini Iyengar considers the Court of Appeal’s (“CA”) latest analysis of the Economic Technical or Organisational Reason Exception (“ETO”) under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”) and the tension between the employment regime and the insolvency regime.’

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Employment Law Blog, 27th November 2013

Source: www.employment11kbw.com

EU migrants: David Cameron sets out more benefit restrictions – The Guardian

Posted November 27th, 2013 in benefits, bills, EC law, employment, enforcement, fines, housing, immigration, news, statistics by tracey

‘David Cameron made a fresh effort to assuage public concern about a wave of migration from Bulgaria and Romania on Tuesday when he announced a series of benefit restrictions on all EU migrant workers, including a ban on access to housing benefit for all new arrivals and a three-month ban before jobseeker’s allowance can be claimed.’

Full story

The Guardian, 27th November 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk