With the new Pokémon Go app taking the world by storm, people all over Hong Kong are glued to their screens, zealously catching the little creatures we have loved since its creation in 1995. Numerous people walking the street, at their desks and maybe even sitting in Court are desperately trying to “catch ‘em all”. … Continue Reading
When it comes to explaining the importance of a new Employment Appeal Tribunal decision, there is nothing quite like a good story. However, the facts in McTigue -v- University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust are rather dry and indeed nothing like a good story, so we shall settle instead for the (potentially really quite important) … Continue Reading
Do you know your Charmanders from your Bulbasaurs? Did you have a preferred method for catching Snorlax? Was your favourite move Hydro Pump? If you have any idea what I am talking about, excellent. If not, please be assured that I am reminiscing about the nineties/noughties phenomenon that was Pokémon and do not require the … Continue Reading
While lamenting the passing of sugary drinks, one of the two great loves of my life along with employment law, I came across something interesting which had nothing at all to do with Baron Osborne’s red briefcase. The Employment Appeal Tribunal had a far more crucial issue on its plate… the sickie. Employers across the … Continue Reading
Almost exactly two years ago we reported on the Court of Appeal’s decision in Mohamud – v – WM Morrisons Supermarkets. The Court found that Morrisons were not vicariously liable for a serious and unprovoked assault on Mr Mohamud by one of its employees in 2008. This was because there was not a sufficient connection between … Continue Reading
A recent case before the French Supreme Court acts as a stark warning to employers of the importance of complying with the requirements in the French Labour Code to display their internal rules in the workplace. After the discovery of empty bottles of alcohol in the employees’ changing room, an employer required one of its … Continue Reading
“Private Messages at Work can be Read by EU Employers” blared the BBC online yesterday in the sort of alarmist over-simplification normally best left to the Daily Mail. Mr Barbulescu worked for an unnamed business in Romania. He was instructed to set up a Yahoo Messenger account for business purposes only. The company’s rules made … Continue Reading
A particularly brutal little tale from the Employment Appeal Tribunal this month about what happens when you are sacked for deceiving your employer, bring an Employment Tribunal claim and then lie to the ET too. Mr G (not his real name, for reasons which will follow – his real name is Mr Roden, also for … 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
On April 22, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision that clarifies that, for purposes of Title VII retaliation cases, an employee’s demand that a supervisor stop his or her harassing conduct constitutes protected activity under the statute. Affirming the findings of several district courts in the circuit, the appeals court held that … 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
In a sequel to our blog last year concerning Australian employers using expletives towards employees (click here), the Fair Work Commission was recently faced with the converse scenario, this time being asked to rule on whether an employer was entitled to summarily dismiss an employee who had inadvertently sent him a text message in which … Continue Reading
Most internal investigative processes are conducted in relative confidence and with as much discretion as possible. No such luxury for the BBC, forced (I will come back to that word) to carry out its process with Jeremy Clarkson in the full public gaze well before it can do so internally. Clarkson, already on a final … Continue Reading
Any skeletons in your workplace cupboards? Never too late to dust them down, it appears from the High Court’s decision in Williams -v- Leeds United Football Club earlier this month. Mr Williams had a 12 month notice entitlement from Leeds and a basic salary of around £200,000. On 23 July 2013 he was given notice … Continue Reading
Some reassuring guidance for employers on the conduct of disciplinary investigations from the Court of Appeal last week – not new law but a clear and helpful analysis of just how far you have to go to investigate an employee’s defence. Mr Shrestha was employed by Genesis Housing Association as a support worker, a role … Continue Reading
Right, that should be enough to scupper UKIP’s chances of bringing the UK out of Europe, so now onto the actual facts. The German Labour Court in Erfurt last week ordered the reinstatement of a garage mechanic dismissed for fondling the cleaner’s breasts. Cut and dried dismissal material, one might think, especially accompanied by his … Continue Reading
Every now and again you read about a case which makes you wonder whether you have just been spending time with Alice in Wonderland. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has recently delivered such an out-of-body experience relating to freedom of speech where an employee “bad mouthed” his employer in the national press. Mr … Continue Reading
I have forgotten many things in my time – appointments, my wife’s birthday (just the once, that would be) and most of my O Level grades. On the other hand, I am pretty sure that I have not forgotten being in a helicopter over Iraq when brought down by enemy fire. Unless I had lived … Continue Reading
According to a lawsuit filed on January 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court, a young Target employee who had Asperger’s Syndrome (a high-functioning form of autism) committed suicide three days after being paraded through the store in handcuffs and taken away in a police car, allegedly as part of a Target disciplinary policy known as … Continue Reading
Stockbroker Rayhan Qadar caused something of a Twitter storm at the beginning of last week when he tweeted “Think I just hit a cyclist. But I’m late for work so had to drive off lol.” Within hours his tweet had gone viral and the local police had become involved, appealing for any victims to come … Continue Reading
Two recent cases from the French Courts are reviewed in this post, one a sensible relief and the other just frankly terrifying. First, an employee with more courage than realism claimed that the obligation of confidentiality in his employment contract restricted his freedom to practise his profession, and was therefore void. He was prepared nonetheless … Continue Reading
In a stylish hotel in the centre of Warsaw there is a laundry where, as usual for such places, linen and uniforms of the hotel’s staff are washed. High-quality industrial chemicals are used at the laundry which are not available in regular stores. One of the employees was very impressed with the efficacy of the … Continue Reading
Some generally reassuring guidance for employers from the Court of Appeal this month concerning the level of certainty required to legitimise the starting of formal disciplinary proceedings. Dr Mian worked at Coventry University when accused of complicity in the provision of falsely favourable references for a former colleague. A preliminary investigation was carried out by … Continue Reading
I’ll preface this blog by saying that I don’t play golf, nor do I really watch golf on television. I am firmly in Mark Twain’s “good walk spoiled” school on this one. The recent Ryder Cup however, I could get on board with. Pantomime cheering and booing like a TV talent show, fierce one-on-one competition, … Continue Reading
