http://www.hresource.co.uk/ Employment Law Protection Insurance and helpline Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:56:26 PST en-us http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/In-Brief---August-2010.asp Employment Law Updates The Government has announced that the default retirement age (DRA) will be consigned to the history books in October 2011 under proposals published last month. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:56:00 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/In-Brief---August-2010.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/FULL-TIME-HOLIDAY-RIGHTS.asp Employment Law Updates EU legislation says that part timers and fixed-term workers cannot be treated less favourably than full time or permanent employees. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in Zentralbetriebsrat der Landeskrankenhäuser Tirols v Land Tirol that the Austrian government could not rely on a legislative provision which reduced the holiday entitlement of a part-timer that had been accrued (but not taken) when they were working full time. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:55:05 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/FULL-TIME-HOLIDAY-RIGHTS.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/CLOAK-OF-PREJUDICE.asp Employment Law Updates It is quite common for negotiations to be conducted “without prejudice” so that nothing mentioned during those discussions can be used in evidence against either party at subsequent proceedings. In Woodward v Santander, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that the only exception to the rule was when it might “act as a cloak” for perjury, blackmail or some other “unambiguous impropriety”. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:54:23 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/CLOAK-OF-PREJUDICE.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UPDATE-ON-THE-EQUALITY-ACT.asp Employment Law Updates The coalition government confirmed recently that the first wave of implementation of the Equality Act will go ahead as planned in October this year, following the publication of the first commencement order in Parliament in early July. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 08:52:50 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UPDATE-ON-THE-EQUALITY-ACT.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF---July-2010.asp Employment Law Updates The Government announced recently that it will limit the number of workers entering the UK from outside Europe so that net migration goes back to the levels of the 1990s when tens (rather than hundreds) of thousands of workers entered Britain. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:07:59 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF---July-2010.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/CONSEQUENCES-OF-DISMISSAL.asp Employment Law Updates When deciding whether a dismissal has been fair, tribunals have to consider whether, in the circumstances, the employer acted reasonably or unreasonably. In Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust v Roldan, the Court of Appeal said that tribunals must take into accountthe seriousness of the consequences of dismissal for the employee. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:07:30 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/CONSEQUENCES-OF-DISMISSAL.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/SWAP-SHOP.asp Employment Law Updates Section 18B of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) gives examples of “steps” that employers can take to comply with the duty to make reasonable adjustments, including “transferring [the disabled person] to an existing vacancy”. In Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Jelic, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that swapping the jobs of two postholders or creating a new post could be a reasonable adjustment. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:06:51 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/SWAP-SHOP.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UPDATE-ON-WORKING-TIME-REGULATIONS.asp Employment Law Updates The aim of the Working Time Regulations (WTR), introduced in 1998, was to improve health and safety at work by introducing minimum rules relating to rest periods, hours and holidays. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 10:05:46 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UPDATE-ON-WORKING-TIME-REGULATIONS.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/In-Brief-June-2010.asp Employment Law Updates The new coalition government recently published its programme for partnership government. The following are the main proposals that are likely to have an impact on employment conditions and issues in the workplace: Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:50:32 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/In-Brief-June-2010.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/PUBLIC-OR-PRIVATE.asp Employment Law Updates To establish negligence, claimants have to show that their employer breached their duty of care to them, among other things.We look at a case in which the court said that the employer should have used their discretion to act by replacing the school's governing body with an interim executive board. Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:49:01 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/PUBLIC-OR-PRIVATE.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/MAJOR-OR-MINOR.asp Employment Law Updates In cases of minor misconduct, employers sometimes make use of policies aimed at negotiation and conciliation, rather than discipline. We look at a case that said that tribunals can consider whether the employer was consistent in their approach to the conduct in question Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:47:35 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/MAJOR-OR-MINOR.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/HEALTH-AND-SAFETY-AT-WORK.asp Employment Law Updates As employers, you have a general duty under the common law to look after your employees in the workplace. We provide an overview of the most important pieces of legislation that you should know about. Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:41:22 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/HEALTH-AND-SAFETY-AT-WORK.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF---MAY-2010.asp Employment Law Updates The House of Commons recently approved the amendments made by the House of Lords to the Equality Bill and it subsequently received Royal Assent. The Act will come into force in stages, starting in October this year with other provisions coming into force next year. Fri, 07 May 2010 13:27:51 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF---MAY-2010.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/COMPANY-LIABILITY.asp Employment Law Updates Under section 32 of the 1976 Race Relations Act (RRA), employers are liable for the acts of their employees (or agents) and are also liable under section 33 if they knowingly “aid” an employee in carrying out an unlawful act. In May & Baker Ltd t/a Sanofi-Aventis Pharma v Okerago, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that an employer cannot be held liable for “aiding” someone to do something after the incident has taken place. Fri, 07 May 2010 13:27:16 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/COMPANY-LIABILITY.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UNILATERAL-CHANGES.asp Employment Law Updates Under contract law, employers cannot usually change the terms of a contract unilaterally. In Bateman and ors v Asda Stores Ltd, however, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) accepted that employers can reserve the right to vary employees' contracts unilaterally as long as the term is clear and they do not exercise the power in such an unreasonable way that they breach the term of mutual trust and confidence. Fri, 07 May 2010 13:25:55 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/UNILATERAL-CHANGES.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/SEXUAL-ORIENTATION-DISCRIMINATION.asp Employment Law Updates The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 outlawed discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in employment, vocational training, goods, facilities and services. Fri, 07 May 2010 13:23:59 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/SEXUAL-ORIENTATION-DISCRIMINATION.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF-March-2010.asp Employment Law Updates It costs a lot of money when employees go off sick, so the Government agreed last year that the sick note (which it felt encouraged employees to stay off work) should be scrapped. Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:20:48 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/IN-BRIEF-March-2010.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/TRYING-TO-BE-FAIR.asp Employment Law Updates The European Convention on Human Rights states, among other things, that everyone has the right to a fair trial. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has said, however, in Khan v Vignette Europe Ltd that the right to a fair hearing is not a “trump card” but one of a number of factors that tribunals have to weigh up when considering all relevant factors. Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:20:12 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/TRYING-TO-BE-FAIR.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/HOLIDAY-NOTICE.asp Employment Law Updates The 1998 Working Time Regulations (WTR) state that workers must abide by certain notice provisions when asking to take their statutory holiday entitlement. In Lyons v Mitie Security Ltd the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that workers can lose any holiday that they had not taken by the end of a leave year as long as the employer had not imposed the notice provisions in an unreasonable or arbitrary way. Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:18:08 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/HOLIDAY-NOTICE.asp http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/DISCIPLINARIES-AND-GRIEVANCES.asp Employment Law Updates Following a thorough review of the statutory dispute resolution regulations that came into force on 1 October 2004, the government introduced a new set of rules on 6 April 2009. Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:17:10 PST http://www.hresource.co.uk/recent-articles/DISCIPLINARIES-AND-GRIEVANCES.asp