Whilst surrogacy is not permitted in the UK, this does not stop UK intended mothers from utilising the arrangement where it is permitted overseas. This raises many issues but in employment law terms it also raises issues as to the intended mother’s right to maternity leave. There have been two conflicting Advocate General decisions on […]
Successful appeals
It is well established that a successful appeal against a dismissal overturns the original dismissal, effectively means that the dismissal is extinguished and no unfair dismissal claim can arise out of that dismissal. A similar approach applies in other cases such as sex discrimination. In the recent case of Little v Richmond Pharmacology Ltd, the EAT […]
Consultation on Zero-hours contracts
The Business Secretary, Vince Cable has announced, at the Lib Dems Conference, that a consultation on zero hours contracts will be launched at some point in the last few months of this year. The consultation will explore how to tackle any abuses and the issue of exclusivity. BIS officials have already carried out a review which highlighted […]
Date for Tribunal fees judicial review
Unison have confirmed that their judicial review against the introduction of Employment Tribunal fees will be heard on 22nd and 23rd October 2013 at the High Court. The Government have confirmed that if successful it will repay any fees paid following the introduction of Tribunal fees at the end of July 2013. Watch this space.
Third party harassment
One controversial part of the Equality Act 2010 was s40 which covered third party harassment and the liability for employers to their staff when third parties harass them in the work place. This section will be repealed on 1st October 2013, albeit in the transitional provisions acts of harassment which occur before 1st October 2013 […]
Grievances and Constructive dismissal
A recent EAT case is useful reminder of the interplay between grievances and a case for constructive dismissal. Long gone are the days where one has to raise a grievance before one can bring an employment tribunal claim but employees are still well advised to do so. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly of […]
Employment Tribunal Fees
Just a reminder of the level of fees for claims in the Employment Tribunal. To issue the claim as follows: Type A £160 Type B £250 The hearing fee is then as follows: Type A £230 Type B £950 Further fees are payable upon making an application. Most claims will fall into type B such […]
Settlement Agreements
I often get asked what sort of amendments are usually needed to compromise agreements, which have of course been renamed settlement agreements. Well I can count on one hand the amount of times that I have signed a compromise agreement in its first draft. As it has been drafted by the employer, it is common […]
Improper behaviour in settlement discussions
Settlement discussions and pre-termination remain the hot topic at the moment as they bed into practice. The discussions are confidential and cannot be used in evidence in ordinary unfair dismissal cases. No such rules apply in automatically unfair dismissal cases or other claims such as discrimination claims. If the discussions arose out of an existing dispute […]
Summary dismissal for gross misconduct
A recent case in the EAT Brito-Babapulle v Ealing Hospital NHS Trust UKEAT/0358/12 is a useful reminder of the law on unfair dismissal. In that case, the Tribunal felt that dismissal would always fall within the range of reasonable responses test for cases of gross misconduct. However, the EAT felt that the Tribunal has skipped […]