Practical Law

It ought to feel like good news, that the number of jobs being advertised in the online gig economy is on the increase. But somehow it just feels sinister, that there is a growing trend to engage remote workers for piecemeal, short-term or project-based work delivered over the internet (for example, see Amazon Mechanical Turk). Much like the “lots of people love zero hours contracts” line of argument, there are probably those who would say that the way forward is the gig economy, that it is liberating and what we need to free ourselves up from the unimaginative 9 to 5 routine. Continue reading →

All employment practitioners are well aware that there is a very narrow window of time for an employee to present an employment tribunal claim.  In most cases, it needs to be in within three months of the event complained of, subject to the relatively short extension afforded by participation in Acas early conciliation and the tribunal’s discretion to extend time under the just and equitable and not reasonably practicable tests. This, of course, is in marked contrast to the many years a claimant has to decide whether to pursue a claim in the civil courts. Continue reading →

Following the summer break, discrimination received a lot of government scrutiny and there were several interesting decisions at the EAT.

The EAT held that protecting a disabled employee’s pay can be a reasonable adjustment. Whether it was reasonable for the employer to have taken that step was a separate question. It also found that there was no service provision change where a new contractor takes over a service for their own commercial purposes and confirmed that an early conciliation certificate extends to a claim of constructive dismissal where resignation occurred after certificate was issued.

The Women and Equalities Committee published a report on pregnancy and maternity discrimination, showing that the number of expectant and new mothers forced to leave their jobs has almost doubled since 2005. The Committee made recommendations which the government will respond with “in due course”. The Prime Minister launched an audit of racial disparities in public services, with the first data for this due to be published before summer 2017. The government also announced the intention to consult on caste discrimination. Finally, BEIS House of Commons Select Committee launched an inquiry on corporate governance, focussing on executive pay, directors’ duties and the composition of boardrooms including gender balance. Submissions are requested by 26 October 2016. Continue reading →

Traditionally the quietest month of the year for legal developments, August has nevertheless been busy for employment law news.

The ECJ has held that EU discrimination laws do not protect a job applicant who applies for a job purely seeking compensation. While sham applications in order to bring claims do occasionally occur, they are rare. Employers should be aware of raising any suspicion that an applicant is not genuine unless there is compelling evidence to show otherwise.

There were several interesting decisions at the EAT. It overturned a tribunal’s decision to strike out a whistleblowing claim where there were factual disputes, and held that tribunals have the power to increase injury to feelings awards in line with inflation. More controversially, rule 12(1)(b) of the ET rules, which provides for a claim to be struck out where it is in a form which “cannot sensibly be responded to”, has been held to be ultra vires because it denies the claimant a hearing. Continue reading →

“Nobody would dispute that protecting children from sexual harm is of the utmost importance, and disclosure is plainly necessary if the risk to children in the school is enhanced. But we are in a dangerous world if mere association with a sex offender warrants that conclusion being drawn.”

Those were the words of Elias LJ, in the minority, in A v B and another [2016] EWCA Civ 766 (paragraph 45). The majority of the Court of Appeal upheld a tribunal’s decision that a headteacher with a successful 23-year career had been fairly dismissed for putting the safety of children at risk. She had failed to disclose her relationship with a man (IS) convicted of making indecent images of children. Continue reading →