The Queen’s Speech has confirmed several anticipated changes for parental leave and employment law.
The Government intends to offer parents more flexibility over care arrangements, while early reconciliation measures through Acas in employment disputes were also backed...
The latest decisions from employment tribunals on the cases that matter to you
Sex discrimination
Hawkins v Atex Group Ltd and others [2012] All ER (D) 71 (Apr)
In 2004, the employee’s husband became CEO of Atex. From September 2006, the employee provided HR and marketing services to Atex through a company jointly owned by herself and her husband. In...
Janvi Patel discusses a recent case involving Arriva and the 48-hour opt-out clause.
Under Reg 4(1) of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) an employee’s working week cannot exceed an average of 48 hours. The 48-hour week is calculated by a rolling 17-week reference period
Under Reg 5 of the WTR, the worker has the ability to decide whether or not they “opt out...
Religious discrimination
Saini and others v Bungay and another [2012] All ER (D) 40 (Mar)
The claimants worked for the third defendant not-for-profit advice centre. The second claimant was summarily dismissed in July 2007, purportedly on grounds of gross misconduct. The first...
An age discrimination case over voluntary redundancy has found that selection criteria based on a budget were legitimate.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) heard the case of HM Land Registry v Benson. The employer needed to cut costs and reduce headcount. As such it established a...
The latest decisions from employment tribunals on the cases that matter to you
Racial discrimination
Bahous v Pizza Express Restaurant Ltd [2012] All ER (D) 191 (Jan)
The employee worked as a waiter. He was a British citizen of Moroccan origin. In July 2009, the employer asked the employee to produce his passport under threat of suspension. The employee had...
Penalties for employing an illegal worker are high, explains Jane Emslie.
Employers face penalties of up to £10,000 for each illegal worker they employ. The only defence against such fines is to take and retain copies of documents showing employees’ entitlement to work in the UK. However, occasionally there may be a mismatch between the evidence available...
Employment tribunal claims dropped by 30 per cent between July and September 2011, compared with the same time the previous year.
Latest Ministry of Justice figures reveal that the number of these cases could be levelling off, according to Audrey Williams, Partner at Eversheds....
The majority of employers are in favour of introducing employment tribunal fees – nearly 80 per cent said that they thought it would reduce litigation.
The findings from Eversheds also highlight that there is support for elevated charges for those who wish to pursue a...
Charging for bringing an employment tribunal case has been branded “chequebook justice” by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The union has hit out at Government plans to introduce fees arguing that it will have a huge impact on ensuring equality at work. It also...
The Supreme Court has backed employers by dismissing an employee’s claim over when he could take his holiday.
In Russell v Transocean a number of offshore oil and gas workers were contracted to work a pattern of two weeks offshore and then two weeks onshore. They argued that...
Mediation is to become central to the Government’s employment tribunal system reforms, revealed Vince Cable.
The Business Secretary has set out various changes to the current process in order to curb the number of claims that reach the tribunal stage. In future all claimants...
Plans to introduce employment tribunal fees have moved forward after Justice Minister, Jonathan Djanogly, announced a consultation to assess the idea.
The Government wants to reduce the £84 million cost to the taxpayer of running the current system, while reducing the...
Disability discrimination and personal injury claims are on the rise from stressed City workers, according to GQ Employment Law.
These types of claims are uncapped and can lead to awards running into millions of pounds.
A recent case involved a secretary from an investment...
The number of employment tribunals involving part-time workers has notably increased.
Under the Part-Time Workers Regulations 2000, this group of employees are entitled to the same treatment as full-time staff.
The rise in the amount of cases has been attributed to the recession where the...
