February 2015 #157 – Law Journals

Shared Parental Leave: Understanding employee attitudes

Gemma Parker examines the findings of a recent survey into the likely uptake of flexible leave for mothers and fathers during the first year of their child’s life ‘Employees expecting a baby or adopting a child after 5 April 2015 will be legally entitled to take SPL. Linklaters’ research shows that, for many of these …

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Discrimination Law: Is obesity the new disability?

Alexandra Mizzi analyses the ECJ’s decision on whether an obese childminder could bring a discrimination claim ‘Despite the controversy, the decision that a severely obese worker cannot bring a discrimination claim does not establish any radical new principle in UK employment law. It may, however, have some interesting practical implications.’ Just before the festive season …

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Corporate Reputation Management: Protecting an employer’s good name

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Is it lawful for an employer to dismiss someone because they pose a risk to its reputation or brand? Melanie Lane, Stephanie Pitman and Tamsin Blow report ‘For a dismissal for reputational reasons to be fair under s98(4) of the ERA, the employer must take a critical view of any allegations by a third party …

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Data Protection: Fashion surveillance

Pamela Morris and Jo Joyce discuss the issues raised by the use of wearable technology in the workplace ‘Smart watches and clothing that can record or photograph information and disseminate it through other devices may pass unnoticed and unchallenged in situations where mobile phones are banned.’Production of Google Glass was halted last month. Privacy concerns …

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Employment Contracts: The science of changing terms and conditions

A recent case highlights the importance of following proper procedures when amending employees’ contracts, writes Michael Ryley ‘The museum would not have had a problem in the first place had its HR managers chased down the employee to deliver written acceptance: the problem arose from a failure of the administrative process and the lack of …

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Restrictive Covenants: Saying yes is not enough

Employers must provide employees with substantial consideration in exchange for signing up to new contract terms if they are to be effective, explains Stefan Martin ‘This article focuses on whether Mr Sendall was bound by the restrictive covenants in his contact and, in particular, what constitutes proper consideration for post-termination restrictions to be enforceable.’A recent …

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Maternity Leave: Employers’ duties in a redundancy situation

Mark Kaye considers a recent EAT decision on the right of women on maternity leave to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy ‘This case is a useful reminder to employers and their advisers that the right under Reg 10 is an absolute one.’ Women on maternity leave have special protection in a redundancy situation by …

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Holiday Pay: The next chapter

The government’s attempt to limit claims for unpaid holiday could be undermined by a new ruling, warns Louise Mason ‘From 1 July of this year, the limitation period for unlawful deductions claims is restricted to two years from the date of presenting the claim.’ In the wake of the ruling in Bear Scotland v Fulton …

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