Covid 19 Employment Law Series: Insolvent Employers, Redundancy, and Covid 19 – Parklane Plowden

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

‘Covid 19 has already had a tragic impact upon the health of many in the UK. One notable other consequence however, has been the impact upon the British economy.’

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Parklane Plowden, 3rd April 2020

Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk

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

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

Disability Discrimination: Chief Constable of Gwent Police v Parsons and Roberts – Old Square Chambers

‘The Claimants were two police officers aged 48 and 44 who were disabled under Equality Act 2010 (EqA). Because they were also unable to carry out the normal duties of a police officer, they were both awarded “H1 certificates” by the Force Medical Officer, which among other things, gave them the right to have immediate access to their pension (which would otherwise be deferred) if they left the police force before their normal retirement age.’

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Old Square Chambers, 3rd March 2020

Source: www.oldsquare.co.uk

Liz Earle beauty firm ordered to pay £17k to sacked pregnant worker – BBC News

‘A woman who was sacked by a beauty company when she was eight months pregnant has been awarded more than £17,000 by an employment tribunal.’

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BBC News, 10th January 2020

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Legal advice privilege – 3PB

Posted December 4th, 2019 in admissibility, disability discrimination, evidence, news, privilege, redundancy by sally

‘The Claimant was employed as a Senior Legal Counsel by Shell until his dismissal, allegedly for redundancy, in January 2017. Whilst employed by Shell, he submitted a grievance and commenced an employment tribunal claim (“the First Claim”) for disability discrimination. In March 2017, he commenced a second ET claim (“the Second Claim). In broad terms, he alleged that Shell relied on a planned re-organisation of its in-house legal department as a pretext by which to terminate his employment by way of redundancy such that his dismissal was unfair, and that this was also unlawful discrimination and victimisation as a result of the First Claim and his grievance.’

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3PB, 4th November 2019

Source: www.3pb.co.uk

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

‘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

Pregnant women to get more job protection – BBC News

Posted January 25th, 2019 in maternity leave, news, paternity leave, pregnancy, redundancy by tracey

‘Pregnant women and parents returning to work will receive greater protection from redundancy under new plans. The government proposes extending legal protection against redundancy for pregnant women for six months after they return to work.’

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BBC News, 24th January 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Overheard pub talk “showed solicitor’s redundancy was bogus” – Legal Futures

‘A long-serving solicitor has been allowed to use a leaked internal email and overheard pub conversation as evidence for a discrimination claim against his former firm.’

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Legal Futures, 10th August 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Birmingham refuse collectors win high court case against city council – The Guardian

Posted September 22nd, 2017 in industrial action, injunctions, local government, news, redundancy, waste by sally

‘Birmingham’s long-running bin strike has been suspended following a high court injunction preventing the city council from making refuse workers redundant.’

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The Guardian, 20th September 2017

Source: www.theguardian.com

Parks police dismissal does not engage article 8 – UK Police Law Blog

‘The recent case of Vining & Ors v London Borough of Wandsworth [2017] EWCA Civ 1092 represents an attempt to circumvent restrictions on certain types of officers from enjoying employment law rights – in a claim of unfair dismissal and for a protective award in respect of an alleged failure in collective consultation relating to their redundancies.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 15th August 2017

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Maternity leave sackings cost £280m a year, says equality watchdog – The Guardian

Posted October 28th, 2016 in employment, equality, maternity leave, news, pregnancy, redundancy, sex discrimination by sally

‘British businesses are losing hundreds of millions of pounds every year as a result of women being forced out of jobs after having a baby, a damning report from the equalities watchdog has revealed.’

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The Guardian, 27th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal, contractual and ethical issues arise from increased robotics in manufacturing, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘The anticipated rise in the use of robots will force manufacturers to rethink contracts with technology suppliers to ensure risks stemming from their use can be passed on.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 25th August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Filling the void: the Brexit effect on employment law – OUP Blog

‘Having been cast as unnecessary “red tape”, a burden on business, inflexible, uncompetitive and inefficient, it is widely assumed that a sizeable number of domestic employment laws derived from European Law will be in the firing line in the event of a Brexit. In a well-publicised written opinion produced for the TUC, the leading labour law barrister, Michael Ford QC, has provided some support for this assumption. He noted the vulnerability of these EU-derived employment rights and labour laws, and divided and categorised them according to whether a future UK government would be likely to repeal, dilute or preserve them. In this blog, I will probe what might fill any void created by the removal of employment rights rooted in EU law. Surprisingly, the common law would appear to have as significant a role to play as domestic legislation in this context. The potential involvement of the common law is somewhat paradoxical, particularly in light of its perceived ‘undemocratic’ credentials, it being a source of law crafted incrementally by unelected judges.’

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OUP Blog, 7th June 2016

Source: www.blog.oup.com

How Much Can I Claim? – No. 5 Chambers

‘Every year the Government reviews and uprates the level of employment protection payments. The new rates come into effect on 6 April each year.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 27th May 2016

Source: www.no5.com

Winners and Losers in the Permanent Health Insurance Game – Henderson Chambers

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in employment, health, insurance, news, redundancy by sally

‘Permanent health insurance (PHI), also and probably more accurately known or described as Income Protection Insurance (IPI), can solve the problem of income protection when an employee is ill for a period beyond that where income is directly maintained by the employer. The employee has time to recover and the employer is relieved of the expense of paying the non-productive employee. But it is not always a Win-Win situation, particularly where there comes a parting of the ways between employer and employee.’

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Henderson Chambers, 31st March 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

Routine use of council gagging orders ‘leaves Britain open to corruption’ – The Independent

‘The UK has left itself open to corruption at the heart of local government, transparency campaigners warned, after it emerged that council workers have been routinely issued with gagging orders when they left public service.’

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The Independent, 3rd April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

City Link directors ‘not guilty’ of failing to notify government of looming redundancies – OUT-LAW.com

Posted November 17th, 2015 in company directors, crime, insolvency, news, notification, prosecutions, redundancy by tracey

‘City Link did not breach laws requiring them to notify the government that they were “proposing to dismiss” thousands of employees who were made redundant when the business became insolvent last year, a court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 16th November 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

University and College Union v University of Stirling – WLR Daily

University and College Union v University of Stirling [2015] UKSC 26; [2015] WLR (D) 188

‘An employee was dismissed as redundant for the purposes of an employer’s duty to consult about proposed collective redundancies if the reason for his dismissal was not something to do with him—such as something he was or something he had done—but was a reason relating to the employer, such as his need to effect business change in some respect.’

WLR Daily, 29th April 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

University and College Union (Appellant) v The University of Stirling (Respondent) (Scotland) – Supreme Court

University and College Union (Appellant) v The University of Stirling (Respondent) (Scotland) [2015] UKSC 26 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 29th April 2015

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt