Back in March we posted here a piece about dismissing to protect the employer’s corporate reputation. In that case the employer made a very difficult choice between the claimed (ultimately, actual) innocence of the employee and the harm which continuing to employ him might do if he turned out to be guilty. On the facts, … Continue Reading
In a previous blog, in a world before the coronavirus hit Europe, we noted the social elections that Belgian employers have to organise in 2020 [here] for the appointment of employee representatives to the Works Council and Health & Safety Committee. Being a representative of that sort (and also being a candidate for that role) … Continue Reading
In January 2018 we wrote about Ribalda –v- Spain, a European Court of Human Rights case in which a number of supermarket employees were awarded compensation for breach of their privacy rights. They had been stealing quite handsomely from their employer over some months, as they freely admitted, but nonetheless thought it entirely improper that … 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
They do say that maternity in the workplace can be an unsettling and confusing time, leaving you confronting new questions and situations that no one has really prepared you for, and where the guidance comes at you from a range of sources as wide as they are inconsistent. Anyway, enough about employers.… Continue Reading
Rochford – v – WNS Global Services is a small (9 page) but perfectly formed UK Court of Appeal decision around when you can stand on your principles in the face of discrimination by your employer and when it just gets you sacked. Mr Rochford had been absent for an extended time with a bad … Continue Reading
Every employer knows that UK law relating to illegal workers is big and fierce and that you take liberties with it at your peril. However, here is what can happen when you take it too seriously. In Abellio London Limited – v – Baker, the EAT has this month taken a look at whether an … Continue Reading
Where an employee is absent without leave, how long would it be before dismissal of that employee would be fair? Two weeks? One month? Six months? How about 20 months? That is the question that was faced by the employer in the recent case of Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust v (1) Akinwunmi … Continue Reading
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
Ever think that you don’t really know your staff? Here is a case about how far that feeling can justify dismissal. Elizabeth Ssekisonge gained indefinite leave to remain in the UK in 2000, qualified as a nurse in 2007 and started work with the Barts Health NHS Trust in 2011. In early 2007 she received … Continue Reading
If we assume that your asking an employee and his manager to try to mediate a falling-out between them is a reasonable management request, what rights do you have as employer if one of them refuses? This came up at the 1st February Civil Mediation Council seminar on introducing mediation as a proactive part of … Continue Reading
Statistically-speaking, your CEO is difficult, challenging, demanding, at times unreasonable and also stands a reasonable chance of being part psychopath, so says a recent report, almost. A new study of 261 senior professionals in the US has found that more than one in five (21%) can technically be classed as psychopaths, which is apparently the … Continue Reading
Williams, Turner and Stoker -v- The Whitbread Beer Company back in 1995 is one of my favourite Tribunal cases, the sad story of an employer trying to do something nice for its staff and being roundly punished for it. Whitbreads ran a staff seminar and laid on a free bar afterwards. As the evening wore … Continue Reading
Large-scale redundancies may not be happening (fortunately) to the same extent as in the aftermath of the financial crash of 2008 (and it’s too early to talk meaningfully about the possible implications of Brexit), but we are still often asked to advise clients in connection with smaller-scale redundancy exercises, often arising as a result of … Continue Reading
So there it is – to no-one’s really very great surprise, the Government consultation document on the simplification of the tax and NI treatment of termination payments turns out not to be about simplification after all, but just a naked tax grab. This was reasonably apparent from the chronically ill-considered nature of the original consultation … 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
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
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
I first encountered Bikram Choudhury 10 years ago (okay more like 15, but who’s counting) at his Bikram Yoga College on La Cienega Blvd. in L.A. when trying out his quintessential hot yoga class. He was memorable, parading around in Speedo-like short-shorts on a small stage in front of the class, shouting yoga commands. Given … 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
On June 15, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court affirmed an appeals court decision ruling that employers can lawfully fire employees for use of medical marijuana. Brandon Coats, a quadriplegic medical marijuana user and Colorado resident, sued his employer (Dish Network) for wrongful discharge after it fired him for testing positive for marijuana during a random … Continue Reading
Apologies in advance, as this will be a blog mostly focused on cricket. Not being a particularly ‘global’ sport, it may seem a little UK-centric. However, since I am writing partly about the slightly shambolic state of English cricket management, I imagine there may be some small Australian interest. You are welcome, Australia, don’t mention … Continue Reading
Squire Sanders presents a series of webinars focussing on the key labour and employment issues in various countries throughout Europe, Asia Pacific and the United States. On 26 March 2014 at 4 pm GMT (5 pm CET, 12pm EDT), the featured country is France. Join Jean-Marc Sainsard and Pauline Pierce from Squire Sanders’ Paris office … Continue Reading
