“The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 [‘ERRA’] received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013, bringing some significant changes to employment law and tribunal procedure. Gemma Roberts highlights the main reforms affecting employment tribunal, ACAS procedure and the changes to whistleblowing; Mugni Islam-Choudhury considers the amendments introduced to the Equality Act 2010.”
No. 5 Chambers, 6th June 2013
Source: www.no5.com
“The energy watchdog, Ofgem, has widened its investigation into alleged manipulation of gas and power markets and warned that doubts over price-setting could lead to higher household bills.”
The Guardian, 6th June 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The enactment of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (“PIDA”) was designed to introduce important protection for those blowing the whistle to draw attention to wrongdoing discovered in the workplace. During the passage of the Bill in the House of Lords, Lord Nolan commended those behind it ‘for so skilfully achieving the essential but delicate balance in this measure between the public interest and the interests of employers’. Fifteen years on, the verdict is less effusive. Significant gaps had been identified in the legislation, for example in failing to impose vicarious liability on employers for acts of victimisation carried out by their employees or agents. In other respects, however, PIDA has come to be seen a blunt instrument, enabling disgruntled employees to seek unlimited compensation despite having done nothing to further the public interest.”
Full story (PDF)
11 KBW, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.11kbw.com
“Tax avoidance has hit the news again, with Apple currently facing questions from the US Senate about its exploitation of Irish company law loopholes and David Cameron writing to offshore tax havens to push for more transparency over tax rules. As it happens, the High Court has just handed down a ruling in a case which raises many of the same issues.”
UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd May 2013
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
“Hardly a day goes by without whistleblowing being in the news. Just last month, two police officers were suspended in Cumbria for leaking information to the press about the expenses of an elected Police Commissioner. Last month, the Robert Francis Inquiry published its findings in to the high mortality rates at Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust, which found a culture of fear and silence throughout the organisation which discouraged staff from raising concerns about patient safety. According to research of the University of Greenwich, 80% of the public feel that whistleblowers should be protected. It seems like we are all agreed that we need more whistleblowers and that they should be protected. But why do we continue to hear about whistleblowers being victimised? As we have seen from the Cumbrian example, should police officers be suspended for raising concerns about the expenses of an elected official? When is whistleblowing in the public interest?”
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 13th May 2013
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
“A three-year campaign to reform Britain’s ‘chilling’ libel laws is days away from victory after the government did a U-turn on a key proposal which would prevent companies using defamation laws to silence their critics.”
The Guardian, 22nd April 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The national whistleblowing charity has begun a public consultation exercise to help it establish whether the current law and legal protections are fit for purpose.”
OUT-LAW.com, 15th April 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
“The chief executive of Stobart Group, one of Britain’s biggest trucking companies, will go on trial for contempt after a whistleblower partially won a high court case against him and another executive.”
The Guardian, 11th April 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
McDaid v Nursing and Midwifery Council [2013] EWHC 586 (Admin); [2013] WLR (D) 132
“A professional conduct adjudication panel which had exceptionally decided to proceed in the absence of the accused was bound, in particular, to take reasonable steps to expose weaknesses in the case against the accused and to make such points on her behalf as the evidence permitted.”
WLR Daily, 21st March 2013
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
“Almost 5,000 council workers and civil servants across Britain have been gagged, The Telegraph has learned. But what are gagging orders and how do they work?”
Daily Telegraph, 2nd April 2013
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Hundreds of whistleblowers are now free to come forward with damaging
disclosures about the NHS after their gagging orders were retrospectively
lifted, Sir David Nicholson has told MPs.”
Daily Telegraph, 18th March 2013
Soruce: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Gagging clauses that stop departing NHS staff from speaking out about patient safety or care have been banned by the government.”
The Guardian, 14th March 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Attorney General has sent two reports dealing with allegations of misconduct at the SFO to a parliamentary committee.”
Attorney General’s Office, 4th March 2013
Source: www.gov.uk/ago
Related links: Sir Alex Allan report (PDF) and report by Tim Hurdle (PDF)
“A dinner lady told a child’s parents that their daughter had been tied to a fence and whipped with a skipping rope by some other pupils, repeated the same to the press and then was dismissed for breach of confidentiality and acting in a manner likely to bring the school into disrepute. An employment tribunal found the dismissal procedurally unfair but dismissed her whistleblowing claim and reduced her compensation for unfair dismissal on the grounds of Polkey and for contributory fault. The tribunal did not, however, determine the question of whether the claimant could lawfully be disciplined for ‘telling tales out of school’ (as it put it).”
Employment Law Blog, 27th February 2013
Source: www.employment11kbw.com
“Employees who ‘blow the whistle’ on bad behaviour by bosses can still take advantage of legal protections even after the employment relationship has ended, a tribunal has ruled.”
OUT-LAW.com, 25th February 2013
Source: www.out-law.com
“Whistleblowers are to be protected from harassment and bullying from co-workers after criticism that current legislation fails to protect those who speak out.”
The Guardian, 21st February 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Joining us this week is Theo Huckle QC, the chief legal officer of Wales who – controversially – says it’s ‘inevitable’ that Wales will become a separate legal jurisdiction. Are centuries of legal union with England really coming to an end?”
BBC Law in Action, 19th February 2013
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Whistleblowing legislation is to be overhauled and a government consultation held to investigate whether the Public Interest Disclosure Act (Pida) 1998 is failing to protect those who speak out from being victimised, harassed and even sacked by their employers.”
The Guardian, 15th February 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The government is proposing to make it easier for the police to seize confidential material from journalists, it emerged on Wednesday night. Legal experts warned that the plans risked trampling on long-standing protections from the state.”
The Guardian, 13th February 2013
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
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