Misconduct Investigations: Avoiding a knee-jerk reaction

Instant dismissal is rarely the best way forward for an employer that suspects an employee of fraud or wrongdoing; procedure is key, warns Catrina Smith ‘For a dismissal on the grounds of misconduct to be fair, the employer must have a reasonable belief in the employee’s guilt, based on a reasonable investigation.’As the UK workplace …
This post is only available to members.

The Year Ahead: Fourteen predictions for 2014

Sarah Parkin rounds up the key legal developments and cases that employment law practitioners need to be aware of next year ‘A particular issue likely to be of concern to employers is whether they will face discrimination claims if they pay enhanced maternity pay where someone is on maternity leave but do not pay the …
This post is only available to members.

Age Discrimination: A unique approach to cost

Helen Cookson and Anna Scott review recent UK and European decisions on age equality ‘It is questionable whether the statistics will continue to show unemployment having a disproportionate impact on older workers, given the numbers of young unemployed graduates and NEETS (young people not in employment, education or training).’ Age discrimination is a key issue …
This post is only available to members.

Duty Of Fidelity: Clamping down on competitive activity

Nicola Bartholomew and Heather Shallow explore how far the duty of fidelity extends when an employee is preparing to compete ‘The duty of fidelity, which has developed by case law over a significant period, is broadly an employee’s duty to have regard to the employer’s interest and not to take part in competitive activity.’ As …
This post is only available to members.

Disciplinary And Grievance Hearings: Who is a reasonable companion?

Mark Kaye considers a recent EAT decision on an employer’s ability to impose conditions on the right to be accompanied ‘As long as a worker selects the appropriate category of representative as set out in the Act, there is no obligation on that worker for the choice of companion to be “reasonable’”. Section 10 of …
This post is only available to members.

Immigration: Business visitors: key issues for employers

Alex MacMahon provides an overview of the activities business visitors are permitted to carry out, the restrictions placed on them and the consequences of non-compliance with the legal regimes ‘Employers should have policies in place to ensure that their human resources department is aware of the restrictions placed on business visitors’ activities so that problems …
This post is only available to members.