April 2016 #169 – Law Journals

Legal News: Employment update

In the first part of a new series, Charlie Bowden rounds up recent case law and developments affecting employers and their advisers ‘The Supreme Court found that the relationships between the prisoners and the prison was akin to employment as, among other factors, the prisoners were carrying out activities for the benefit of the prison.’Vicarious …

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Gender Pay Gap Reporting: A new dawn for equal value claims?

Annabel Gillham, Andrew Taggart and Hannah Lau consider whether the draft gender pay gap regulations are fit for purpose and whether they will act as a catalyst for private sector litigation ‘The obligation to report gender pay gap information should encourage greater transparency, which may, in time, result in employers having to introduce significant changes …

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Employment Claims: Tribunals in peril

Proposals to integrate employment tribunals into the court system and scrap lay members are misguided, argues Stephen Levinson ‘One the most consistent criticisms of the tribunal system over the past 25 years has been creeping legalism. This was noted as long ago as 1987 in the Justice Report and echoed in 2013 by the CBI.’This …

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National Living Wage: Understanding the new rate

As the national living wage comes into force, Omer Simjee investigates the issues facing employers ‘The government is increasingly “naming and shaming“ non-compliant employers and it is likely the numbers of employers that fail to pay the correct rate will increase once the NLW comes into effect.’ The national living wage, which came into force …

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Employee Status: Is employment becoming obsolete?

The rise of independent contractors and Uber-style working models is posing a challenge for policy makers and law courts around the world, explains Sean Nesbitt ‘Only employees have certain key protections including minimum notice, consultation upon redundancy, redundancy payments and the right to claim unfair dismissal, as well as family-friendly rights.’ The US is awash …

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Apprenticeships: You’re hired!

Mark Stevens discusses the forthcoming Apprenticeship Levy and the employment law issues that arise from this type of training programme ‘Employers should seek to avoid inadvertently entering into the more onerous arrangements under the common law contract, but rather agree appropriate apprenticeship agreements.’ In the run up to last year’s election, the Conservative party pledged …

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Holiday Pay: Unlocking the commission payments puzzle

Helen Cookson and Anna Scott analyse the EAT’s decision in the long-running case of Lock v British Gas Trading ‘Key to calculating a week’s pay under the ERA is to work out which subcategory the employee falls into. For example, do they have normal working hours and, if so, does pay vary according to the …

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Recruitment: A guide to equality law and the hiring process

Joanna Chatterton and Ed Livingstone give advice on how to avoid discriminating against job applicants ‘It is a good idea to keep a record of the process that led to each particular recruitment decision, so as to rebut any allegations of discrimination by unsuccessful candidates.’ It is not only employees and other workers who can …

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