Rule 37 of the 2013 ET Rules of Procedure contains the Tribunal’s nuclear deterrent, the power to strike out part or all of a claim or defence. That big red button can only be pushed for a small number of specified reasons including (for today’s purposes) Rule 37(b) that the manner in which proceedings have … Continue Reading
Two recent cases on how Employment Tribunals should handle the inappropriate conduct of proceedings by claimants have shed some useful light on their more punitive powers. Both decisions made clear that the ET is far more interested in getting to a fair trial of the issue despite such conduct than in thumping claimants because of … Continue Reading
The ancient art of fiddling while Rome burns is obviously still flourishing in government, as witness the release last week of a new consultation paper on fees for Employment Tribunal claimants. My colleague Alexander Bradbury has the official line here. We have been this way before. The ET started charging claim and hearing fees in … Continue Reading
In 2013, the Government introduced fees for bringing claims to the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Although they were then abolished following a Supreme Court ruling in 2017, the issue is back in the spotlight and the subject of fee-rocious debate once more following the publication of a Government consultation into their re-introduction. … Continue Reading
It has been annual review season here at Squire Patton Boggs. Looking back over my efforts this year in the usual endeavour to justify my own existence, I have spotted the same scenario cropping up with unusual frequency. An employee tells their employer that they have experienced something at work that they are not too … Continue Reading
When I tell people I am an Employment lawyer, it is not uncommon for them to assume out loud my days must be filled swinging metaphorical axes and terminating employees on all sides. While I always reassure them that that is not quite the case, today’s blog will not help this misconception disappear. The message … Continue Reading
Back in February I offered here some thoughts on the main practical problems implicit in what was then the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill. It was a mess, missing explanations of key concepts and grossly over-engineered for its objectives. That makes it all the more depressing to report that it has now received Royal … Continue Reading
Back in November 20201 we reported here on some new Acas guidance on changing terms of employment through dismissal and re-engagement, and in November last year on the Government’s intention to issue a new statutory Code on that practice here. A first draft of that Code has now landed and we can exclusively report that … Continue Reading
You would think that in the twenty-plus years since they were first introduced as an alternative to the Acas COT3, all that could be said about the law relating to settlement agreements would have been said. However, along now comes the Scottish Employment Appeal Tribunal in Bathgate –v- Technip UK Limited and Others with a … Continue Reading
The thing about one-stop shops is that if they do not stock what you want, they become next best thing to useless. Anyway, welcome to the government’s new Guidance on Employment Status, expressly billed in the accompanying press release as meeting all your worker status needs in one handy document. … Continue Reading
Oops. Just found an unanswered question left over from our investigations webinar and blog series earlier in the year. Apologies if it was yours. The question revolves around employer and investigator interactions with the Police where the subject matter of your workplace investigation is potentially criminal conduct, and is maybe best answered as a series … Continue Reading
Since most workplace investigations involve something contested, most investigation reports will disappoint one party or the other. Indeed, since very few workplace disputes are exclusively the responsibility of one party alone, it is entirely possible if you put your mind to it that at one level or another your report will be a disappointment to … Continue Reading
Nearly 700 sign-ups for our workplace investigations webinar earlier this month gives a clear indication that this once relatively unfashionable area of HR law and practice is very much dish of the day at the moment, so from the first ten parts on this blog in December-February, now seems the time to move on to … Continue Reading
An interesting development on the old employment relations front this week with the announcement of a new statutory code of practice concerning, well, that strictly remains to be seen. Scarcely able to stand up under the weight of politically-charged invective and hyperbole, the government’s statement refers to “clamping down” on “unscrupulous employers” which fail to … Continue Reading
A great deal of the available guidance on conducting workplace investigations relates to the form of your questions of the parties involved, and in particular to whether they should be open, closed, or leading. This is the difference between: “And what happened next?” – open, because the answer can go off in any direction; “Did … Continue Reading
We made an employee redundant before the furlough scheme ended – will his unfair dismissal claim succeed? The basic argument here is an easy one to understand – you made me redundant when you did not have to because my salary was being borne by the CJRS. In circumstances where employers are duty-bound to consider … Continue Reading
Look, it’s certainly not for me to criticise efforts being made by HM’s Courts and Tribunals Service to explore and improve how justice is best delivered during the pandemic and beyond. So the recent arrival in my inbox of a survey on the point being conducted by an independent external organisation IFF on behalf of … Continue Reading
It is easy to dismiss some EAT decisions as a storm in a teacup, legally-speaking, all very traumatic for those bobbing about in them, but of little significance to the wider world of employment law or practice. Steer – v – Stormsure Limited earlier this month is not one of those decisions. It has the … Continue Reading
Remote evidence in Tribunal hearings have traditionally been limited to circumstances where an individual’s location or health makes it very difficult for them to attend the venue. Historically the ETs have not much liked it and there is a continued perception that evidence given remotely is like that given by a written statement alone – … Continue Reading
Although we still don’t have a new federal government in Belgium (elections were on 26 May but who’s counting …), we are already heading towards the next vote. Social elections, that is, to appoint the employee representatives in the Health & Safety Committee and Works Council.… Continue Reading
As an alternative to Brexit, Russian spies and what happens now to Ant and Dec, here is something new to keep your next dinner party guests impressed and entertained, the Ministry of Justice’s unmissable statistics for the Employment Tribunal Service for Q4 2017.… Continue Reading
A survey carried out by the CBI published earlier this week shows that 90% of the 299 employers spoken to thought that the removal of Employment Tribunal fees would either probably or definitely lead to an increase in weak and misguided claims. Yikes. But is it true?… Continue Reading
General Elections. Don’t they seem to come round more frequently than they used to? A tough call for voters, this particular one, not just because of economist JK Galbraith’s wise words above but also because the outcome won’t make the slightest difference to the biggest issue of the day, the terms on which we are … Continue Reading
Last week (9 February) the Employment Tribunal announced that its decisions would be freely available online, allowing searches by name of employer or perhaps prospective employee. You know you want to give your candidate a quick once-over if you can (employers never being strong believers in the view that what you don’t know can’t hurt … Continue Reading