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Withdrawal of working from home guidance leaves employers with plenty to think about
The working from home guidance is one of many COVID restrictions that are due to be removed on 19 July. Yesterday, to accompany the Prime Minister’s announcement, the Government published COVID Response: Summer 2021 which contains more information about how it intends to manage the lifting of most of the remaining restrictions.
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Offer of amends cannot cure fundamental breach
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that once an employer has committed a fundamental breach of contract, the employee does not have to accept an offer to make amends, but remains entitled to rely on the breach and bring a claim for constructive unfair dismissal. Read more...
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New guidance on defining disability for neurodivergent individuals
A recent decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal involving a worker diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome offers new guidance on the correct approach to assessing whether workers with neurological impairments are protected by the Equality Act. Read more...
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Employee who refused to attend work during lockdown fairly dismissed
In one of the first tribunal cases to emerge from the first national lockdown, an employment tribunal has ruled that an employee had been fairly dismissed for refusing to come into work. Read more...
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New guidance on defining disability for neurodivergent individuals
A recent decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal involving a worker diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome offers new guidance on the correct approach to assessing whether workers with neurological impairments are protected by the Equality Act. Read more...
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Employee who refused to attend work during lockdown fairly dismissed
In one of the first tribunal cases to emerge from the first national lockdown, an employment tribunal has ruled that an employee had been fairly dismissed for refusing to come into work. Read more...
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Coming in April: a quick reminder
Although there will be comparatively few changes to substantive employment law this Spring when compared to previous years, there are still a number that are worth noting. Read more...
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Supreme Court signals bold new approach to equal pay litigation
Asda's final appeal against the employment tribunal’s ruling on the issue of comparators has now been dismissed by the Supreme Court. In doing so it has signalled the need to apply the equal pay legislation “with confidence…with Parliament’s purpose clearly in mind.”
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Supreme Court rules sleep-in workers not entitled to NMW if asleep
The Supreme Court’s judgment in the Mencap case confirms that employers do not have to pay their workers the national minimum wage unless they are awake for the purposes of working. This important decision will be welcomed by employers in the care sector, in particular, and provides much needed certainty.
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Terms of latest furlough extension revealed
Now that the guidance has been updated following the Chancellor’s announcement in last week’s budget, we know a little more about how the latest extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will work. For more information, see our recently updated FAQ document.
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Government acts to disapply public sector exit payments regulations
The Treasury has issued a Direction which disapplies the Regulations which introduced a cap on public sector exit payments in November last year. That means that the cap ceased to apply from 12 February, pending revocation of the Regulations. It also means that the exit payments of employees with termination dates between 4 November 2020 and 12 February 2021 should not have been capped.
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“Stale” training insufficient to establish reasonable steps defence to harassment claim
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision to reject an employer’s defence to a racial harassment claim, based on training which had been delivered several years before the events in question and was “clearly stale”. Read more...
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Post-Brexit review of workers’ rights cancelled
After giving mixed messages last month about a planned review of workers’ rights, the new Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has now conceded that the review “is no longer happening” in his department. Read more...
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EAT ruling spurs renewed focus on interim relief
A decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal last month, about whether interim relief should be available in discrimination claims, has highlighted the significant benefits of this remedy for claimants, particularly while waiting times for employment tribunal hearings continue to increase.
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Supreme Court upholds Uber drivers’ claim for worker status
The Supreme Court has confirmed that Yaseen Aslam and a small group of other drivers had the status of workers, not self-employed contractors, when working for Uber. In doing so it has upheld the decision of the employment tribunal in 2016, and agreed with the rulings of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (in 2017) and the majority of the Court of Appeal (in 2018).
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Government acts to disapply public sector exit payments regulations
The Treasury has issued a Direction which disapplies the Regulations which introduced a cap on public sector exit payments in November last year. That means that the cap ceased to apply from 12 February, pending revocation of the Regulations.
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“Stale” training insufficient to establish reasonable steps defence to harassment claim
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision to reject an employer’s defence to a racial harassment claim, based on training which had been delivered several years before the events in question and was “clearly stale”. Read more...
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Post-Brexit review of workers’ rights cancelled
After giving mixed messages last month about a planned review of workers’ rights, the new Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has now conceded that the review “is no longer happening” in his department. Read more...
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EAT ruling spurs renewed focus on interim relief
A decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal last month, about whether interim relief should be available in discrimination claims, has highlighted the significant benefits of this remedy for claimants, particularly while waiting times for employment tribunal hearings continue to increase.
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UK's post-Brexit immigration system replaces freedom of movement from EU
The expiry of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020 saw the end of EU freedom of movement to and from the UK. From 1 January 2021 the UK’s new points based immigration system will apply to EU as well as non-EU nationals, marking the most significant change to our immigration system for several decades.
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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme extended to end of April
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended by a further month, to the end of April 2021. Mr Sunak has also confirmed that the current level of grants will be maintained until the end of the Scheme. Read more...
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Key health and safety protections extend to workers
The High Court has recently decided that, to comply with EU law, important provisions in the Employment Rights Act which protect employees from victimisation on certain health and safety grounds should also extend to workers. Read more...
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The new "Student visa system" - a reminder
International students continue to be a highly valued component of the UK higher education system, and EU / EEA / Swiss nationals will form an important aspect of that student body with effect from 1 January 2021, when the EU transition period concludes...
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“Typical” menopausal symptoms amounted to a disability
In what is possibly the first decision of its kind, an employment tribunal has decided that an employee with range of common menopausal symptoms was entitled to the protection of the Equality Act as a disabled person.
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Three key lessons about indirect age discrimination from the Court of Appeal
The latest age discrimination decision from Court of Appeal is about the lawfulness of changes to the pay structure of the Probation Service in the early days of the public sector pay freeze in 2011. It had to decide whether the agreement negotiated with the union to slow incremental pay progression – which particularly disadvantaged younger workers – amounted to unlawful indirect age discrimination.
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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme extended for further month
On 31 October, a few hours before CJRS was due to end, the Prime Minister announced that it would be extended during November and the funding for employers made more generous. The launch of the Job Support Scheme, which was due to start on 1 November, has been postponed.
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Launch of three-tier alert system leaves working from home guidance intact
Based on the guidance published on 12 October, the Government’s key message to employers of office-based workers in England has not changed, even in areas on the highest alert level. Read more...
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Job support scheme launch and other COVID news
The Chancellor’s launch of a new scheme to protect jobs hit the headlines last week. There have also been a number of other significant national developments over the last few days which include...
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Employment tribunal rule changes aim to increase capacity and cut delays
The Government has announced some significant changes to the employment tribunal rules of procedure, which will take effect on 8 October. There will also be two changes to the early conciliation rules, applying from 1 December. Read more...