May 2016 #170 – Law Journals

Legal News: Employment update

Jo Broadbent and Sarah Parkin round up recent case law and developments affecting employers and their advisers ‘The public interest test introduced in 2013 may not in practice make it significantly more difficult for employees to pursue whistleblowing claims based on complaints about their individual treatment.’Payment for covenant did not make it enforceable In a …

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Childcare Vouchers: Taxman is wrong, rules EAT

The EAT is at odds with HMRC over whether women on maternity leave should continue to receive childcare vouchers, explain Connie Cliff and Liz Wood ‘The EAT held that where childcare vouchers are paid as part of a salary sacrifice scheme, they form part of an employee’s remuneration. The fact that the tax legislation deems …

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Religion And Belief: Not good to talk

Phil Allen looks at a recent EAT case on when disciplinary action over an employee’s religious discussion can be lawful ‘The protection of religion or belief cannot enable someone to express their belief in any way they like without risk of action, as such conduct can be discrimination and harassment of others.’Some employees will feel …

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Vicarious Liability: A modern theory?

Tabitha Georghiou and Matthew Ramsey examine the impact of two cases on the existing tests to establish employers’ liability for acts committed by employees or other individuals ‘It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the courts have preferred to use relatively loose language to describe the test for vicarious liability so that they can …

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Commission Payments: Making sure everyone gets their fair share

A Court of Appeal ruling highlights the difficulties employers face in asserting absolute discretion over commission or bonus awards. Stephen Ravenscroft and Jo Bennett report ‘Mr Hills argued that Niksun had not discharged the burden of proof as it had not offered any evidence from the main decision maker to establish that it had acted …

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Termination Of Employment: When disciplinary proceedings and the criminal law collide

Richard Berry discusses the main considerations for employers dealing with cases of off-duty misconduct that have a criminal element ‘One aspect of the law which can be useful for employers is that they do not necessarily have to rely on “conduct” as the statutory reason for dismissal, particularly if there is insufficient evidence to establish …

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Age Discrimination: Taking it literally

The wording of an employer’s policy meant it was merely obliged to provide PHI, not to ensure the employee actually received payments, write Helen Roberts and Rebecca Harding-Hill ‘The decision does reflect the reality of the circumstances where employees are denied benefit because they were ill and claiming under the employer’s existing scheme when a …

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Absenteeism: Managing employee sickness

Laura Garner offers some tips for employers when dealing with sickness absence and reviews recent case law developments ‘It is one thing for an employer to discover general performance or disciplinary concerns while an employee is off sick. However, what if the disciplinary issues relate to the sickness absence itself?’There is no doubt that sickness …

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