Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations. Whilst it has become common practice for employers to include ‘no jab, no job’ clauses in their employment contracts for new employees, mandating compulsory COVID-19 vaccinations for existing frontline care home staff could cause significant problems for employers in the sector. Already open to potential legal challenges of detrimental treatment or discrimination, … Read more
New Employment Rights Act order provides additional health and safety protection to workers. As of the 31st of May 2021 workers will now benefit from additional health and safety protection that previously only applied to employees, thanks to an amendment to the Employment Rights Act 1996. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Protection from Detriment … Read more
New rates apply from 1st April 2021. Millions of the lowest paid workers across the UK are set to benefit from an uplift in the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Not only could this equate to an extra £345 per year for those in full time employment, but this year’s adjustments increasingly favour … Read more
Tom Street’s 10 point Employee Guide to Continuity of Employment/Length of Service UPDATED May 2020 How long you’ve worked for your employer (continuity of employment) is quite a fundamental point when it comes to the application of employment law. For example, you only gain certain statutory rights if you have been employed for a particular … Read more
The quarterly tribunal statistics published on 8 March 2018, for the period from October to December 2017 showed that: The number of single claims received at the Employment Tribunals increased by 90%, which was the highest since the introduction of the fee regimen The number of multiple claims received at the Tribunals increased by almost … Read more
The Supreme Court has recently held that ‘unfavourable’ treatment is different from ‘detriment,’ especially in claims for discrimination arising from a disability. This, in turn, stirred a new discussion about what is the correct definition of ‘unfavourable’ treatment, when it comes to disability discrimination. In the Williams v Trustees of Swansea University Pension … Read more
In 2018 the outcome of a range of UK employment law cases may have long term implications for whistle-blowers and their employers. Employees can be held liable personally for dismissal and other detriment According to the Court of Appeal in the case of Timis and Sage vs Osipov, the personal liability of … Read more
In the much debated case, Cheshire police force rejected a potential employee just because he was white. The recruit was a well prepared candidate but was discriminated against because he was a heterosexual male. Son of a detective inspector in Cheshire Police, Matthew Furlong applied to join the police force, at the age of 23, … Read more
Most recently, art educators to the National Gallery to court and sought to be recognised as employees instead of freelance workers. This is a landmark case which has shifted the spotlight on the gig economy now into the realms of the public sector. The case A group of 27 artists and art lecturers were dismissed … Read more
Recently an employment tribunal ruled that a group of courier workers for the delivery company Hermes are to be treated as workers instead of self-employed. The tribunal in Leeds decided that the drivers must also be entitled to basic rights of employment like national minimum wages and holiday pay. The decision The lawyers Leigh Day … Read more