Can an employer reject the decision of an appeal panel? A decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that there will be circumstances where it is fair for an employer to reject the decision of an appeal panel and proceed to dismiss an employee. We take a look at the case and how this may affect employers in a similar situation.
In the case of Kisoka v Ranpinyotip T/A Rydevale Day Nursery, the claimant was suspected of starting a fire in her workplace.
As many people will be aware, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) are in place to provide employees with protection when their employment is transferred to another employer. The coalition government recently carried out a consultation regarding alterations to TUPE and various proposals to change the regulations were recommended. On 31 January 2014 these changes will be introduced via the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking Regulations 2014, although not all of the changes will take effect on that date. Outlined
With the countdown to Christmas already started, it might be an idea to look at how to avoid the potential employment law issues at Christmas parties. Without wanting to be viewed as the 'Scrooge' of the party season, we think that it is helpful to set out some useful tips before entering into the party season and heading for that next glass of mulled wine.
Employees should continue to be aware that when on a work Christmas lunch or dinner, they are still employed by
Are you up to date with the changes in TUPE regulations? In November 2011, the Department for Business, Skills and Innovation (BIS) published a call for evidence, seeking views on the effectiveness of the current TUPE regulations. This was on the basis that it was thought that the regulations 'gold-plated' the EU Directive.
Following this call for evidence, the Government announced how the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations 2006 will change. After deciding not to go ahead with two significant changes it
Do you know your rights regarding maternity rights and holidays? I am regularly asked this question by both employees and employers.
Legislation states that all contractual terms (except pay) survive during both ordinary maternity leave (OML) and additional maternity leave (AML). Women are therefore entitled to accrue statutory and contractual leave while on maternity leave.
If they can't take all the leave they're entitled to during a particular year, they can carry it over to the following year. Many employers allow employees to add all
Large employers such as Sports Direct, McDonalds and even Buckingham Palace have recently been 'exposed' as using zero hours contracts. So what are zero hours contracts?
What are zero hours contracts?
Zero hours contracts are generally contracts of employment between employer and worker with no minimum hours for the worker, and no obligation on the employer to provide any hours. It also means, in theory, that the worker is not obliged to accept the hours which are offered to them.
Workers are entitled to be
29 July 2013 marks a dramatic change to employment tribunals (ET) as we have known them, with the introduction of employment tribunal fees. Under these new rules, claimants will be required to pay an upfront fee when submitting their claim to the ET and a further 'hearing fee' 21 days before their hearing takes place.
From 29 July, claimants wishing to submit a claim to the ET will be required to pay £160 or £250 to lodge a claim with a further charge of either
Individuals in employment are protected against discrimination based on age under the Equality Act 2010. This includes harassment and victimisation and age discrimination can apply to youngsters too.
Age harassment occurs when there is unwanted conduct related to age and this conduct has the purpose, or effect, of violating the dignity of the employee, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.
In the case of ?Roberts v Cash Zone (Camberley) Ltd and Another an employment tribunal found that a
Constructive dismissal has become 'sexy' following the highly publicised tribunal decision in the case of Stella English v Amshold Group Limited. Miss English (2010 winner of The Apprentice), brought a claim of constructive dismissal claim against her employer, Lord Sugar's company, stating that she had no choice but to resign as she had no real role at the company.
Following the unanimous dismissal of Miss English's claim, Lord Sugar praised the tribunal and saw it as a victory against the so-called 'claims culture'.
So
Following three re-drafts by the Government, a consensus was finally reached on employee shareholder legislation. In April 2013, the House of Lords and the Government agreed on wording of the Growth and Infrastructure Bill which introduced a new employment status employee shareholder.
First proposed by the Chancellor George Osborne at the Conservative Party Conference last October, the original proposals saw a new employment status of employee shareholder that would see employees who were employed under this contract between £2,000 and £50,000 worth of shares, in
We are often asked by employers to advise on disability discrimination.
Equality Act 2010 states 'a person has a disability if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on his ability to carry out normal day to day activities'. Long term means the impairment has lasted, or is likely to last:
The guidance
In 2011 a review of workplace sickness absence was carried out by Dame Carol Black, the Government's national director for health and work, and David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
The Government has responded to that review by announcing that it will introduce a new independent assessment and advisory service in order to address sickness absence and get employees back to work.
This is likely to be in place by 2014. The service will offer a health assessment for employees who have
2013 is shaping up to be another busy year for employment lawyers and HR professionals alike. With a raft of changes expected, we have summarised the most important, and will keep you updated throughout the year with regular blogs and tweets about employment law 2013.
1. From 1st February:
- the Unfair dismissal compensation award limit will increase from £72,300 to £74,200, and
- a week's pay for calculating statutory redundancy will increase from £430 to £450.
2. The Enterprise Regulatory and Reform Bill
What Facebook employment advice should you know about and what disciplinary action could be taken against you?
The rise in the use of social media in both business and in private is stratospheric. Often the lines between what is work related and what is truly 'private' can become blurred. Employees have been dismissed because of inappropriate comments (which have amounted to bullying and harassment) being posted on Facebook about colleagues, or where they have posted comments which have brought the employer into disrepute.
A Housing
We highlighted some issues that can surround a transfer of undertakings under TUPE, particularly in relation to service provision changes (SPC).
One of conditions that have to be satisfied for service provision changes to occur is whether, immediately before the SPC, there is an organised grouping of employees whose principal purpose is working for the 'client'.
But who is the 'client' This case helps to answer this question.
The case involved an in house lawyer who worked for JAS Ltd, part of the Jarvis Group.
Do you know what's on the cards for Employment Law in 2013?
Agency Workers
The Government is expected to review employers' administrative obligations in the Agency Workers Regulations in June 2013, with a view to making sure that practical arrangements are as straightforward as possible.
Unfair Dismissal Compensation
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill (ERRB), which is currently progressing through Parliament, will:
Employers with more than 5 employees were required, until 1st October 2012, to help their employees access a stakeholder pension scheme but this requirement has now been abolished with the introduction of the so called auto-enrolment pension scheme. However, transitional provisions do still allow an employer to continue deducting contributions from the salary of an employee who is an existing member of a stakeholder scheme after 1 October 2012. It's best to check with the scheme provider for further guidance on this.
Auto-enrolment means
So what are owner-employee contracts? In his speech to the Conservative Party conference on 8 October 2012, Chancellor George Osborne set out proposals which could see employees give up employment rights in return for shares in their company and tax free gains under a new owner/employee contract.
People employed on the contract will give up their rights to claim unfair dismissal, redundancy, the right to request flexible working and time off for training. Women will also have to give 16 weeks' notice of their date
Whether or not workers can reclaim holidays if they are sick during annual leave has caused a headache for employers for some time. In 2012, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in workers? favour. So what is the impact of sickness during annual leave?
What does this mean for employers?
In the case of ANGED v FASGA, the ECJ held that workers who fall ill during annual leave can take their holiday again at a later date.
Workers are already allowed to retake
Employment Tribunal statistics
The Employment Tribunals have published their annual statistics for the period 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. Interestingly the total number of claims continues to decrease (from 236,000 in 2009/2010 to 218,000 in 2010/2011 and decreasing again to 186,000 in 2011/212).
Unfair dismissal claims have fallen from 47,900 to 46,300. If anyone is interested in reading the report it can be obtained from the Ministry of Justice website.
Employment Tribunal fees
The Ministry of Justice has recently published the results of
