In 2013, the Employment Rights Act was amended to reduce the scope for employees complaining about issues relating to their own contracts of employment to claim that this afforded them all the protections of a whistleblower. Post the 2013 amendment, it has been necessary for an individual to demonstrate that he/she had a reasonable belief … Continue Reading
Cast your mind back to a time before July 2013 when the perception was that businesses were regularly on the receiving end of Employment Tribunal claims from disgruntled employees and ex-employees. Times were good for lawyers and bad for employers, one might have said. So sensing a win-win-win (bash lawyers, limit spurious claims against political … Continue Reading
We have almost all been there at one time or another. You have a “large” weekend so when Monday morning forces its way through the curtains the last thing you want to do is drag your hungover bones into work and face the world. For most of us though, if you do decide to take … Continue Reading
The woman who was called “Crazy Miss Cokehead” by her manager has been awarded nearly £3.2m by an Employment Tribunal for sexual harassment, reportedly including £44,000 for injury to feelings and a further £15,000 in aggravated damages. We originally posted a blog on this story in November 2013 https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/crazy-miss-cokehead-when-banter-goes-too-far/. Following the liability hearing, the Tribunal … Continue Reading
While it is not beyond belief that students with tablets and smart phones might surreptitiously occupy their minds elsewhere during a lecture, this year’s Employmentlawworldview Oscar for Best Multitasking must surely go to the Swiss professor dismissed last week for watching porn while giving a lecture. What poise, what practice, what confidence that must take, … Continue Reading
It was reported in the UK press just before Christmas that Marks and Spencer was forced to apologise to a customer after a Muslim employee refused to handle alcohol and so declined, politely and apologetically, to serve a customer trying to buy a bottle of champagne. This issue caused a bit of a Twitter storm, … Continue Reading
Most workplaces do (and indeed probably should) have a degree of daily workplace banter between employees within the workplace. It’s usually part of the oil which keeps the machine running happily and smoothly. But when does the banter cross the line from a little reciprocal mickey-taking and verbal jousting to help the day go past … Continue Reading
Talking of jokes in the workplace (see Catherine Berry’s 3 May post below), there was a political storm last week following Prime Minister David Cameron’s exclaiming, “Calm down, Dear!” to Opposition MP Angela Eagle during a debate in the House of Commons. The line is taken from a well-known (actually only because of that line!) … Continue Reading
