Following on from my post last week on the busy 2013 there are more changes on the horizon in employment law for 2014. Again some of the highlights include: January 2014 – the planned changes to TUPE; April 2014 – mandatory pre-claim conciliation; April 2014 – financial penalties imposed in ET for employers; Spring […]
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas and a healthy and happy 2014 to all my readers, clients, followers and everybody else.
Review of 2013
On a quiet news week I have been giving some thought to the changes of 2013. These have been vast on both a personal and employment law front. This year for me has been a change in professional roles for the better. Those of you that know me well know I now wear more than […]
Right to be accompanied
The recent case of Toal and another v GB Oils Ltd before the EAT last year held that the right to choose a companion was an absolute right which was only subject to the limitations imposed under s10(3) of the Employment Relations Act 1999 which defines a companion as an appropriate union representative or one of […]
Holiday pay
The Advocate General has given his opinion in another holiday pay case on course for the ECJ. In this case the Claimant, Mr Lock, was paid a basic salary and a commission element which varied. Whilst he was on holiday he was paid his basic salary and only the commission that fell due whilst he […]
Restrictive covenants
The Court in Back Office Ltd v Percival granted an order that an ex-employee and a competitor company observe the terms of the ex-employee’s post termination restrictions following his defection to the new employer. The Court order was breached and the case was before the High Court. A committal to prison for contempt of Court […]
Shared parental leave
The Government has published its response to the consultation on the administration of the new shared parental leave and pay system following its confirmation that new arrangements for shared parental leave and pay were on the radar for the current Government. The Government has already provided for change within the Children and Families Bill currently […]
Is a consultant a worker or an employee or neither?
Whilst fact sensitive, the EAT has upheld the Tribunal’s decision in Halawi v WDFG UK Ltd (t/a World Duty Free) and another 2013, that a beauty consultant was not in employment under the Equality Act 2010 s83. The Claimant provided her services through a limited company to an agent who then supplied staff to a […]
Freedom to choose your representative in legal expenses insurance
It has long been established that under Directive 87/344/EC policyholders have the right to a free choice of representative in legal proceedings. The trouble is that this is often difficult to secure as insurers insist that legal proceedings are only after issue and a policyholder should use their panel solicitor notwithstanding the geography and that […]
Whistleblowing recommendations
The charity Public Concern at Work has received the recommendations from the commission it established to review the effectiveness of whistleblowing practices in UK workplaces back in 2013. The report makes over 20 recommendations for improving protection for whistleblowers and encouraging culture of compliance with the legal obligations. The commission has attached a draft code […]