In Portnykh v Nomura International plc the EAT has held that negotiations between an employee and an employer over a settlement agreement were inadmissible as evidence in the employee’s whistleblowing dismissal claim under the ‘without prejudice’ rule. The EAT also held that the rule should not be disapplied on the ground of ‘unambiguous impropriety’ simply[…]
Can an employment tribunal decide that it is within the range of reasonable responses for an employer to dismiss an employee taking into account a final written warning when an appeal against it remained outstanding, without hearing evidence regarding the imposition of the warning? Yes, holds the EAT in Rooney v Dundee City Council The[…]
HM Revenue and Customs has issued a consultation on proposed changes to the tax system in order to tackle false self-employment – i.e. the use of employment businesses and intermediary companies to present employment situations as self-employment. The consultation follows the announcement made in the Autumn Statement. The proposed changes are intended to come into[…]
In Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd and ors, Advocate General Bot has given his Opinion that Article 7 of the EU Working Time Directive (No.2003/88) requires commission to be taken into account when calculating the correct remuneration for paid annual leave. If the ECJ follows the Opinion, workers who are paid wholly or partly[…]
In response to a steady flow of scandals and allegations of ‘gagging’ across the public and private sectors, the Whistleblowing Commission yesterday published its long-awaited report, which carried out an in-depth review of whistleblowing policies and practices. The Commission, set up by the charity Public Concern at Work, has recommended 25 measures to tackle what[…]
In an important victory for employees the European Court of Justice has held that a legal expense insurer cannot insist that the insured use its panel lawyers. In the case of Sneller -v- DAS, an important case strengthening an employee’s position in dealing with insurers the Claimant held legal insurance with DAS. The insurance contract[…]
The Ministry of Justice has published ‘provisional management information’ showing employment tribunals’ receipts up to September 2013 – after the introduction of employment tribunal fees on 29 July 2013. The annual Employment Tribunals and EAT statistics for April to March 2012/13 have also been published as part of the quarterly (April to June 2013) statistics[…]
Pregnancy discrimination probe The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is to launch a £1m investigation into the discrimination faced by pregnant women and its impact on families and the economy. More than 9,000 pregnancy discrimination claims have been brought against UK employers since 2007 and there is evidence that the recession has made discrimination[…]
In USDAW v Ethel Austin Ltd (in administration) and another case the EAT has granted the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills permission to appeal against its decision (Brief 977) that the words ‘at one establishment’ in S.188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 must be deleted to ensure[…]
The Prime Minister’s ‘Business Taskforce’ of ‘six heavy-hitters from the UK business community’ has presented 30 recommendations for cutting EU ‘red tape’. The report makes recommendations in several areas, including employment law. Among other things, it proposes establishing a presumption that micro-enterprises will be exempt from new employment law proposals. The report states that the[…]