REUTERS | Athar Hussain
August 11, 2016

Cause of action estoppel: don’t get caught out

Certain claims may be better suited to the County Court or the High Court than the employment tribunal. These include claims for breach of contract and personal injury. There are a number of reasons why the County Court or the High Court might be a more attractive option to claimants, including the more generous time limit (three years as opposed to three months) and the absence of a cap on awards.

But what happens if a claim has already been issued in the employment tribunal before the claimant realises that it is better suited to the civil jurisdiction? Claimants should be alive to cause of action estoppel. If they’re not, they may be prevented from pursuing the claim elsewhere. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Luke MacGregor
July 28, 2016

Employment highlights: July 2016

With the legal world reeling and British politics in turmoil following last month’s surprise Brexit decision, it was business as usual in the courts and tribunals, with little respite from the deluge of new judgments in the run up to the summer recess.

In the ECJ, Advocate General Sharpston opined that an employee’s dismissal for wearing an Islamic headscarf at work was directly discriminatory on grounds of religion or belief. This was in stark contrast to the recent opinion in Achbita, reported last month. These differing opinions have been analysed in our blog (see below). The ECJ has also reaffirmed its earlier decision in Pereda and found that a worker who is prevented from taking their scheduled annual leave due to sickness can carry it forward to the next holiday year. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Kham
July 13, 2016

The treatment of migrant workers: a patchwork of protection

June was a bumper month in the developing field of claims concerning vulnerable migrant workers who are badly treated by their employers. English law offers a patchwork quilt of contractual and statutory protections. One of the challenges for advisers and representatives is identifying the most appropriate causes of action for the treatment received. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Russell Boyce
July 6, 2016

It’s raining again: are holes appearing in umbrella company arrangements?

In George Osborne’s Autumn Statement 2014 speech, he said that the government were going to consult on whether “umbrella companies” (not to be confused with umbrella contracts) were being used to deprive people of basic employment rights like the minimum wage, and avoid tax.

Umbrella companies are a type of managed service company and are used to employ an individual who either sources work directly with a client or through an agency. The umbrella company invoices the client for the individual’s services, then pays the individual out of that fee, and pays itself an administration fee for providing payroll services. Continue reading →

REUTERS | David Gray
June 30, 2016

Employment highlights: June 2016

For anyone who inexplicably missed it, this month’s big news is Brexit, following the UK’s vote by a narrow majority to leave the EU. Although nothing can be known yet about the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, we have briefly set out some of the possible implications for employment law, including some thoughts on the EEA option. Readers may also be interested in our In-House blog, UK votes out: après nous, les dèluge, which contains initial views on the immediate aftermath, from practitioners across a wide range of areas.

In the first religious discrimination case to reach the ECJ, the Advocate General gave an opinion that a dress code banning Muslim headscarves was justified by the employer’s policy of neutrality. This is discussed by two of our bloggers (below).

Continue reading →

REUTERS | Mike Blake
June 21, 2016

Setting the agenda – what’s the issue?

After the ET1 and ET3 are filed, the employment tribunal will require parties to attend a preliminary hearing to determine the issues in the claim. The notice of hearing states that the parties should submit an Agenda to the tribunal in advance of the hearing, but that in any event, parties are permitted to make oral submissions. It can be all too common for very little work to be done on the Agenda or List of Issues prior to that first preliminary hearing. For parties who are legally represented, this is a wasted opportunity. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Ajay Verma
June 14, 2016

All protected characteristics are equal, but are some more equal than others?

In Achbita, the AG seems to think that because religious belief is a matter of choice and hence is mutable, it is less worthy of protection than the allegedly immutable personal characteristics that sit alongside it in the Directive. However, there is nothing in the Directive or indeed what sits behind it, the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, to suggest that religion or belief deserve different or lesser protection because they are a matter of choice. Continue reading →

REUTERS | Jon Nazca
June 10, 2016

Should you tell your employees how to vote in the EU referendum?

This week JCB became the latest business to wade into the choppy waters of the EU referendum debate. What sets JCB’s contribution apart from many of the others, like Unilever and Wetherspoons, is that the chairman’s letter in support of leaving the EU was specifically directed at the company’s employees, rather than its customers or the electorate in general.

JCB are not alone in this. In March BMW sent an email to its UK Rolls Royce and Mini employees, supporting the Remain campaign. Continue reading →