EU Referendum: Breaking up is hard to do

A recent Norwegian working time case shows how the UK could still be bound by employment directives even if it leaves the EU, explain Karen Harvie and Kenny Scott ‘Following any exit, the UK would still (at least initially) retain membership of, or be bound by, a whole swathe of conventions and obligations, which would …
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Public Sector Exit Payments: Clawback confusion

Catherine Rayner investigates the draft legislation on recouping termination payments from workers returning to the public sector ‘The draft regulations are complicated and understanding them is not helped by the need to cross reference them against numerous other pieces of legislation.’ Draft regulations on recovering exit payments made to public sector employees, contractors and office …
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Age Discrimination: Spot the difference

Jennifer McGrandle analyses a recent EAT decision on who the correct comparator is when seeking to demonstrate less favourable treatment ‘RBS may struggle to justify its treatment of Mr Donkor given that the significant additional cost of his enhanced pension seems to have been the driving force behind the decision not to offer him the …
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Data Protection: Tougher EU rules on the horizon

Paul McGrath and James Noble discuss the aspects of the new European General Data Protection Regulation of particular interest to employment law practitioners and in-house counsel ‘While 2018 may feel like a long way away, organisations will want to start preparing now. Adopting a multi-layered approach to compliance is key.’ After four years of negotiation …
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Disability Discrimination: A minefield for employers

Three recent cases highlight some of the tricky situations that employers face when dealing with employees who have a disability, reports Rachel Farr ‘The Government Equalities Office (GEO) has published guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability, which contains examples of normal day-to-day activities.’Disability is …
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Financial Services: The crackdown continues

Alexandra Beidas and Jillian Naylor summarise the latest moves to improve accountability and discourage excessive risk taking in the banking sector ‘Whistleblowing disclosures made to the FCA have already increased significantly in recent years, from 565 in 2012 to 1,376 in 2014. The new regime is likely to mean that the number of disclosures, both …
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Flexible Working: Tipping the balance

Charlotte Davies considers the current and future landscape for flexible working and family-friendly rights at work ‘The existing and proposed changes to the law perhaps indicate a shift in culture in the UK. We are increasingly seeing companies place more emphasis on work-life balance, including the introduction of voluntary measures to help achieve this.’Recent years …
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Termination Payments: A taxing issue for employers

Mark Kaye and Charlie Bowden examine the impact of a recent Upper Tribunal decision on the tax treatment of payments for injury to feelings ‘The decision to separate pecuniary and non-pecuniary loss was the wrong interpretation of s401. The sole factor to consider is whether a payment is made in connection with termination of employment.’ …
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