For a whistleblower to benefit from the statutory protections, his disclosure must be protected, i.e., be (usually) about the breach of a legal obligation and reasonably believed by him to be true and in the public interest. If he deliberately lies or makes his disclosure only to advance his own interests or prejudice somebody else’s, … Continue Reading
The ever-vexed question of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor has once again come before the Australian courts. The recent decision of Balemian v Mobilia Manufacturing Pty Ltd & Anor provides a reminder to employers of the potential financial ramifications of getting this wrong.… Continue Reading
Hot on the heels of our post on indirect discrimination in employee tests for promotion comes another decision posing similar challenges for employers. Government Legal Service –v- Brookes concerned the Situational Judgement Test (SJT) which forms part of the recruitment process for lawyers wanting to join the Service. Ms Brookes told the GLS in advance that … Continue Reading
Legally-speaking O’Brien – v – Bolton St Catherine’s Academy as reported last week is mostly about how much overlap there is between fairness for unfair dismissal purposes and justification in disability discrimination terms (in brief, very substantial). It is also a fine illustration of how hard it is to overturn an Employment Tribunal judgement on … Continue Reading
“Bosses can ban burkas, scarves, crosses” shouts the front page of last Tuesday’s Metro, followed by a commentary far too short to explain that this is almost always untrue. This is the resurrection of an old debate concerning the extent of your right to manifest your religion at work through how you dress. When last … Continue Reading
Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court refused British Gas consent to appeal the Lock holiday pay case any further, finally putting an end to the five year saga of whether an element in respect of commission should have been included in Mr Lock’s holiday pay. Mr Lock himself has long lost interest and left British … Continue Reading
Fans of the unnecessary medicalisation of management issues in the workplace will be sadly disappointed by a new Employment Appeal Tribunal decision at the end of December. For everyone else, Herry – v – Dudley MBC represents a very sensible and timely reminder of where the line lies between being disabled on the one hand … Continue Reading
When you sign up a Settlement Agreement with an ex-employee you think that’s the end of the matter, right? Clearly that is the general intention, but we already know that even the most procedurally prim and proper settlement agreement can be undone by evidence that it was entered into by fraud or misrepresentation and now … Continue Reading
UK employers take note – the Employment Appeal Tribunal has recently ruled that an employer was obliged to continue paying a disabled employee his full salary even though he had been redeployed into a less well paid role because he could no longer carry out his normal duties as a result of his disability. Such … Continue Reading
The French Supreme Court recently ruled that an employer could not rely on the report of a private detective it had hired to spy on one of its employees to obtain an injunction against him because this was a breach of the employee’s privacy and that could not be justified, however legitimate were its concerns. … Continue Reading
The vexed question of an employee’s right to manifest his religion in the workplace has twice raised its head in the EU courts in recent months. Employers seeking a definitive steer on the question should look away now. Both cases deal with similar facts and contain exhaustive reviews of relevant considerations and authorities, and then … 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
The Fair Work jurisdiction in Australia is generally considered a ‘no costs’ jurisdiction, meaning that even if a party is successful in an action, it is usually unable to obtain a costs order against the loser. However in 2012 the Fair Work Amendment Act 2012 (Cth) widened the exceptions to the ‘no costs’ rule by … Continue Reading
When you work late in the office, why? Because it will make the following day that bit less fraught? Because you do not want to be seen as a clock-watcher? Because you think it will help your bonus or job security? Because you believe it is the right thing to do for the good of … Continue Reading
Does really just anything count as a philosophical belief these days? An impression you could reasonably take away from the headlines in the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision in Harron –v- Chief Constable of Dorset Police last week but happily not one completely borne out by closer reading. Mr Harron considered himself to have been discriminated … Continue Reading
The Guardian Online reports the case of Paris resident M. Frederic Desnard last week. He is claiming over £280,000 in compensation for a nervous breakdown allegedly caused by his managerial job at French perfumiers Interparfum. However, no tale of excessive pressure and punishing working hours, this one. Instead, M.Desnard claims that his job was so … Continue Reading
It is a common issue facing employers; you want to start or take next steps with a grievance or disciplinary investigation. To do the right thing you want to meet with the employee to discuss your concerns but the worker is on sick leave or goes sick, often citing work-related stress. Can you contact 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
Back in 2014 we posted a piece on Moorthy –v- HMRC https://www.employmentlawworldview.com/taxing-times-for-uk-discrimination-claimant/, a case looking at the taxable status of payments to employees for injury to feelings caused by unlawful discrimination. Historically there had been an unspoken understanding that such compensation could be paid tax free, on top of the usual £30,000 allowance for termination … 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
Health and safety laws rolled out around Australia since 2012 have imposed a new positive duty on company officers to exercise due diligence to ensure their “person conducting a business or undertaking” (PCBU – usually the corporate employer) is compliant. The term “officer” extends beyond the PCBU’s executives, directors and secretaries to any person who: … Continue Reading
So there it is – in a tremendous boost for transatlantic relations, the European Court of Justice has decided that America is not to be trusted with the personal data of EU residents. That is not exactly the way the decision is phrased, of course, which (so far as relevant to UK HR) is more … Continue Reading
