April 2015 #159 – Law Journals

Equality Act: The extent of protection for political beliefs

The EAT has recently considered whether an employee was protected from discrimination on the grounds of his socialist beliefs. Rebecca McGuirk analyses the case ‘Religion or belief is one of the “nine protected characteristics” covered by the Equality Act. Where possible, in the employment context, the Equality Act takes a consistent approach across the nine …

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Shared Parental Leave: Tackling the tricky issues

Ed Bowyer and Jo Broadbent provide answers to some of the more difficult queries being raised about the new SPL system ‘If tribunals continue to accept that the purpose of maternity leave is not simply to care for a child, the prospects of a successful direct discrimination claim remain slim.’ Most employers and their advisers …

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Absenteeism: Is Fit for Work fit for purpose?

Will the government’s new occupational health assessment service really end Britain’s ‘sicknote culture’, ask Eleanor Porter and Charlie Bowden ‘Having access to free occupational health advice will undoubtedly be welcomed by many small and medium-sized businesses.’In February 2011, David Cameron declared war on Britain’s ‘sicknote culture’. In a speech to launch the Welfare Reform Bill, …

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TUPE: Never a dull moment?

Charles Wynn-Evans rounds up recent case law on service provision changes and other thorny TUPE issues ‘There can be a service provision change where activities are conducted by just one employee. However, the connected issues of the principal purpose of the organised grouping and whether the employee is assigned to that organised grouping can cause …

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Health And Safety: Keeping up to speed with drug driving laws

Clare Sample and Francesca Hodgson give advice on how employers should respond to new drug driving legislation ‘Acas advises that being convicted of a criminal offence is not normally in itself a reason for disciplinary action.’New drug driving legislation came into force on 2 March 2015. The Drug Driving (Specified Limits) (England and Wales) Regulations …

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Employment Policies: The parties’ general election promises

Tom Kerr-Williams looks at the main parties’ pledges on pay, industrial relations and other employment law issues ‘The three main political parties are still finalising their manifestos, but a number of key policies have been published already as the leaders embark on their televised debates. This article summarises the key policies of interest to employment …

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Immigration: A key election battleground

With immigration set to be a huge focus in this year’s general election, Sarah Lovell examines what the coalition government has done to try and tackle rising numbers of migrants and what the main parties propose to change after the election ‘The majority of other proposals from all the parties to curb immigration relate to …

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