This year there is a move away from the annual change to a week’s pay and the maximum compensatory award which has always traditionally taken place in February for the last few years. Instead this year there will be an increase on 6th April 2014. The Employment Rights (Increase to Limits) Order 2014 reflects an […]
Sarah King Employment Solicitor
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News
Business Briefing – Restrictive Covenants
The issue of restrictive covenants often raises its head throughout the employment life cycle. Firstly, there is at the contract stage. I am asked to look at these when drafting contracts for employers or indeed reviewing a draft contract for a new employee. Secondly, at the exit stage when I am asked by employers to […]
Appeals against dismissal
A small employer dismissed an employee for gross misconduct. The employee appealed so the employer engaged an independent panel to hear the employee’s appeal. The panel overturned the employer’s decision to dismiss but the employer did not implement the panel’s decision. Where does that leave the employer in an unfair dismissal claim? The ET found […]
Fines for employers in the ET
New legislation comes into force for claims presented on or after 6th April 2014, which will mean for the first time employers will be ordered to pay a financial penalty for losing their case before the Employment Tribunal. The power was provided in s16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 which has now […]
Why do employers offer settlement agreements?
Firstly, what is a settlement agreement? Well it is a legally binding agreement usually between an employee and their employer whereby the employer offers the employee a lump sum in excess of their normal entitlement to compromise any employment claims they may have. It must meet certain legal requirements to be a valid settlement agreement one […]
Changing terms and conditions after TUPE
In a case decided under the 2006 TUPE Regulations, the Court of Appeal in Hazel v The Manchester College have upheld a tribunal’s decision that two employees were automatically unfairly dismissed. There was a TUPE transfer and the two employees were dismissed for failing to agree to new terms which included a pay cut. Whilst […]
Fees in the Employment Tribunal
For those that follow me on Twitter the news that Unison failed in its judicial review of Employment Tribunal fees will by now be old news. Unison have stated that they intend to appeal so this may not be the end of the headlines over the ET fees. Having now read the Judgment it is clear […]
Zero hours Contracts (again!)
Zero hours contracts are again in the news after a private members bill was published on 23rd January 2014 seeking to prohibit the use of zero hours contracts. The bill has a specific definition of zero hours contracts which relates not only to a contract which does not provide guaranteed working hours but also one […]
Snow whistleblower
During the winter of 2010, Mr Shaw sent a series of two emails to the Health and Safety Manager and a further email to HR concerning the dangerous driving conditions in the snowy conditions. Mr Shaw managed a team who travelled to customers around the Country and was looking for guidance on how best to […]
Caste discrimination
There has been discussion around the proposed amendment to the Equality Act 2010 and whether this needed to be amended to include expressly that caste is an aspect of the protected characteristic of race. The Government had not yet amended the Act but intended to make the inclusion clear. The Employment Tribunal in Tirkey v […]
(Our news section brings you the latest news on published judgments and cases which are all in the public domain. We only comment on these published cases and not cases of our actual clients. Publication of the case or comments is a public service designed to make the courts and tribunals more accessible and ensures justice is seen to be done. This is why court and tribunal judgments are published publicly.)