The Court of Appeal handed down its much anticipated judgment on Friday last week in the joined cases of Royal Mencap v Thompson Blake and John Shannon v Jakishan and Prithee Rampersad (t/a Clifton House Residential Home). The decision provides much-needed clarity on whether workers are entitled to the national minimum wage for each hour during … Continue Reading
Here is a new case which you think initially might be quite helpful on the calculation of holiday pay, but which then suddenly veers off into the contractual undergrowth, and actually isn’t. However, what it does do is administer a sharp lesson about the wisdom of trying to incorporate broad principles into individual employment contracts. … Continue Reading
How often have you had an employee make some vague and unspecific complaint about your “unlawful” or “improper” or “inappropriate” conduct (often among a welter of other gripes and grievances) only to find him later claiming protection as a whistle-blower. Is that sort of gripe really enough for him to gain that protection?… Continue Reading
Perhaps that is not really fair – Acas’ new guidance on overtime certainly does what it can to help employers on the vexed question of whether and how you take overtime into account for holiday pay purposes. However, it is held back from saying anything either new or useful because there haven’t been any developments … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs presents a webinar to discuss the latest practical guidance and analysis on the EU Settlement Scheme. The Home Secretary has issued a Statement of Intent relating to the Scheme, which will be rolled out from late 2018. The Statement explains in more detail the criteria and process for EU citizens to obtain … Continue Reading
Apparently, said the Court of Appeal, the unlawful retention and circulation of confidential material by a union representative “was not a sufficient departure from good industrial relations practice” to justify his dismissal, a conclusion which initially seems little short of perverse, let alone an alarming comment on the state of industrial relations in the UK’s … Continue Reading
As we know, where an employee is engaged under one or a series of fixed-term contracts for a period of over 2 years, they acquire the right not to be unfairly dismissed. It is also the case that non-renewal of a fixed-term contract will count as a dismissal under the ERA 1996. An employee whose … Continue Reading
A useful little reminder from the Employment Appeal Tribunal last week that underneath all the practices and codes and assumptions which govern our conduct of HR matters, there is still The Law.… Continue Reading
Tras una moción de censura en el Congreso español el 1 de junio, España tiene un nuevo Presidente del Gobierno, Pedro Sánchez, y un nuevo gobierno socialista. Si bien aún no se conocen todas las implicaciones de este cambio trascendental, el nuevo Presidente del Gobierno ha declarado que su gobierno: Continuará respetando la estructura y … Continue Reading
Re-wind to May 2016 and you may recall the widely-reported story of a receptionist sent home from work without pay for wearing flat shoes in contravention of her agency’s dress code. The incident led to a joint report by the House of Commons Petitions Committee and Women and Equalities Committee, High Heels and Workplace Dress … Continue Reading
Following a vote of no confidence in the Spanish Parliament on 1 June, Spain has a new Prime Minister – Pedro Sánchez – and a new Socialist government. Whilst the full implications of this momentous change are not yet known, the new Prime Minister has stated that his government will: Continue to observe European regulations … Continue Reading
On 15 May we posted a piece on a case about the importance of context on workplace discussions which might otherwise sail close to being discriminatory. As if by magic, Acas has now issued some new Guidance which includes comment on the same point: “Religion or Belief Discrimination – Key points for the Workplace”.… Continue Reading
The National Minimum Wage rates have increased, bringing new risks for employers. Employers may now find themselves breaching the regulations for something as simple as asking employees to provide an item of uniform, and the penalties for non-compliance can be severe. On 25 June 2018, National Minimum Wage lawyers James Pike and Laura McLellan will be hosting this … Continue Reading
Ostensibly the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision in Bakkali –v- Greater Manchester Buses last week is a faintly technical one about how the required connection with a personal characteristic protected under the Equality Act differs between direct discrimination and harassment.… Continue Reading
The Squires international employment law portal continues its growth with the release last week of its Nigeria section. No more desperate internet searches, no more conflicting information or worrying about whether you are getting the whole picture – Global Edge offers you the opportunity to research specific questions or to compare and contrast Nigerian labour … Continue Reading
After a breathless April saw Global Edge secure awards for lawyer innovation and technology in London and Dubai, our celebrated international Employment Law portal starts May with the addition of a new jurisdiction, Portugal. As a taster, did you know that they have over 1,000 different ways of cooking cod there, and that despite 95% … Continue Reading
So now you have published your gender pay gap statement and added the traditional narrative treading the thin line between acknowledgement of the gap and denial that it represents evidence of any unlawful discrimination. Well done so far, but if the UK Government has its way, that is only the beginning.… Continue Reading
Next month we are presenting a webinar to discuss the important employment reforms that are being phased in from 1 January 2018 and which will affect all employers located in Belgium. Intended to boost job creation, the reforms are on the back of the 2017 measures giving increased flexibility in working time. On 16 May … Continue Reading
Told you it was great! In a whirl of sequins and inappropriate shoes at London’s Grosvenor Hotel on Wednesday night, the Squire Patton Boggs Global Edge product secured the coveted Legal Business UK Award for Legal Technology Team of the year. The Award “recognises the law firms, in-house teams and Chambers that have pushed through … Continue Reading
Let’s get our terms straight to start with. Redundancy selection is where you have more than one person (say, A and B) carrying out a role for which the employer’s need has diminished, and then choosing which of them to let go. Bumping is where you have chosen the employee who is notionally redundant but … Continue Reading
What do you not know about Finland that might help you with your HR operations there? Is it that there are no polar bears there, or is that merely reassuring rather than helpful? Is it that back in 1906 it was the first country in Europe to give women the vote, or is that uplifting … Continue Reading
