Legal news: Employment update

Jo Broadbent rounds up the latest case law and developments affecting employers and their advisers ‘A collateral purpose may be relevant to whether an employee has acted honestly, but will not be determinative.’ Honest belief sufficient for victimisation claim A false allegation made in bad faith is not a protected act for the purposes of …
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Right to be accompanied: Dealing with requests to postpone a disciplinary hearing

An EAT ruling has made it harder for employers to refuse to delay a disciplinary or grievance hearing because the employee’s chosen companion is unavailable, warns Rob Childe ‘The impact on Ms Smith of not being able to attend with her chosen representative to put forward her side of the story was far greater than …
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Legal privilege: When does legal advice lose its confidential status?

The EAT appears to have widened the range of situations in which employers might lose legal advice privilege, reports Ben Daniel ‘As a baseline principle, it would be wise to steer clear of any narrative which could be viewed as underhand or deceitful on the available facts.’ Legal advice given by a lawyer to a …
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Immigration: Truth, proof and the right to work

With recent decisions showing that employers, tribunals and even the Home Office are confused about right-to-work checks, Samar Shams sheds light on this tricky area ‘Most commonly, a skilled migrant sponsored to do one job is promoted into a different role; this constitutes illegal working if the sponsoring employer does not report the change to …
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Disability discrimination: ‘Arising from’ claims – lessons from recent case law

Antonia Blackwell considers some of the pitfalls facing employers seeking to justify their actions in the context of a claim for discrimination arising from a person’s disability ‘A key feature of s15 of the Equality Act is that an employer can justify unfavourable treatment arising from a person’s disability if it is a proportionate means …
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TUPE: Potential transfer even with a long gap between contracts

A five-month gap between contracts did not prevent there being a transfer of an undertaking, explain Nicola Ihnatowicz and Anna Scott ‘The ECJ’s finding that a five-month gap in services did not necessarily preclude a finding that this was a going concern ties in with UK case law.’ The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has …
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Dispute resolution: How to draw up a watertight settlement agreement

Ben Dawson looks at the key things to be aware of when drafting settlements, including how to maintain confidentiality without breaching new guidance on non-disclosure agreements ‘A settlement agreement is a legally binding agreement in which the employee gives up their right to make specified claims and, if relevant, withdraws any current claim against the …
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Parents and carers at work: New EU and UK proposals on work-life balance

Amanda Sanders examines a draft directive and various UK proposals aimed at encouraging men and women to share parenting and other caring responsibilities more equally ‘The draft directive sets out minimum standards so as to create more convergence between EU member states, preserving and extending existing rights on paternity leave, parental leave, carer’s leave and …
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