Hot tubing…it may sound like a ridiculous concept but it’s something that Civil Courts use all the time. A Judge gets two or more experts that are involved in a case round a table - or in front of the bench - to put their opinions forward. That way, the Judge is aware of the agreed (or not) issues, avoiding lengthy protected hearings or correspondence. So what is the relevance of this concept to HR and Employment Law? Well, actually, it’s something that many firms…
A flood of claims were submitted to tribunals earlier in the year, and it's no surprise why... Earlier this year, in July, fees became payable to lodge both an employment tribunal claim and an appeal. As a result, an issue fee of £250 and a hearing fee of £950 are now payable should an applicant wish to submit a claim for discrimination or unfair dismissal for example. Simpler cases, for such things as unauthorised wage deductions or unpaid redundancy payments, attract a much lower fee…
Is it the beginning of the end for zero hours contracts? Over the summer months, the media had a field day with a succession of startling revelations about the use of “zero hours.” This is the somewhat contentious arrangement in which no specific weekly hours are prescribed. Employees may not be offered work from week to week. Perhaps it wasn’t too surprising for McDonald’s and Burger King to be under the employment spotlight but when accusations also hit brand leaders like Boots and Sports Direct,…
It can be tricky for employers to keep up-to-date with all the legislation changes that affect the workplace. That's why we've compiled a quick summary of the most important changes over the last six months: Collective Redundancy Consultation The minimum period of employee consultation when making 100 or more redundancies in a period of 90 days or less has been reduced from 90 to 45 days. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) DBS checks (formerly known as Criminal Record Bureau checks) are now portable, which means…
Over 10 million people in the UK have a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability - with around 1 in 7 disabled adults of working age. The employment-rate gap between disabled and non-disabled people decreased from around 36% in 2002 to around 29% in 2010. To put this into context, the 2010 statistics show that 48% of disabled people were employed compared to a non-disabled rate of 78%. Disability Discrimination Legislation The law relating to disability discrimination is governed by the Equality Act 2010.…
Can you discipline or dismiss an employee for raising multiple unfounded grievances? The case of Woodhouse v West North West Homes Leeds Ltd [2013] has highlighted the difficulties for employers faced with how to deal with an employee who raises multiple baseless grievances and tribunal claims. Over a period of four years, Mr Woodhouse, raised multiple grievances and brought a number of tribunal claims against his employer alleging race discrimination. Eventually, his employer decided that his behaviour in continuing to raise grievances, his refusal to…
Almost two years ago, it was requested of Mr Justice Underhill that he conduct a review of Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure (or ET rules). These recommendations were published in July 2012 and, although the new rules are yet to be officially released, a consultation published by the government in March implies that the majority of Underhill’s recommendations have been accepted. While there is little dispute that certain areas of the ET rules require something of a makeover, there is concern among some groups that…
