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Executive Pay: New powers for shareholders

Matthew Howse and Celia Kendrick examine the impact of the government’s proposals to reform the law on the remuneration of directors in publicly listed companies Preparing for and complying with the new requirements is likely to cost affected companies heavily in terms of advisers’ fees and management time. In a speech to the House of …
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Employment Law Reform: Devil in the detail

Benedict Gorner analyses the government’s proposals to reduce unfair dismissal awards, introduce a code on settlement agreements and simplify the tribunal rules It is rare for a tribunal to award compensation of more than a year’s pay and in fact the median award for unfair dismissal in 2011/2012 was only £4,560. On 14 September, the …
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Tribunal Fees: Fair way to share costs or breach of human rights?

Adrian Martin discusses whether the introduction of tribunal fees could be a breach of the right to a fair trial under the European Convention of Human Rights The government maintains its position that the remission system would be suitable to protect access to justice for those who cannot afford to pay the fees. In recent …
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Tribunal Fees: Attack on justice or encouragement to settle?

Christine Young and Hester Cooper consider the legal and practical issues surrounding the introduction of fees in the employment tribunal ‘Despite the government’s detailed impact assessment and the measures outlined above, concerns remain that the fee system is open to judicial challenge.’ The government has published its response to the consultation on charging fees in …
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Tribunal Procedure: Rewriting the rule book

Sarah Ozanne examines Underhill J’s proposals for improved employment tribunal case-management powers and for a revised procedural code ‘The redrafted rules are less than half the length of the existing rules and feature some significant changes to case-management structure alongside greater promotion of alternative dispute resolution.’In November 2010 the government launched its Growth Review to …
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Tribunal Jurisdiction: Interpreting Parliament’s intention

Naomi Oppenheim and Nick Tsatsas review Underhill J’s proposal to broaden the type of claims that the employment tribunal has jurisdiction to hear ‘One of the new employment tribunal rules (r8) may make employers around the world more nervous, because it has the potential to significantly increase the number of claims that English employment tribunals …
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Working Time Regulations: Accruing holiday when sick

Kate Hodgkiss welcomes a decision that has finally resolved the conflict in previous case law over employees’ right to take or carry over annual leave if they are on long-term sickness absence ‘The Court of Appeal has found that workers do accrue holiday during sick leave and that if they are unable to take it …
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Redundancy: Does somebody have to go?

Two contradictory EAT judgments have left it unclear whether a reduction in hours constitutes a redundancy situation, reports Louise Mason ‘Faced with two conflicting decisions (Packman and Welch ), how should employers approach a reduction in work which results in a reduced need for employee hours?’ It is, perhaps, a sign of the times that …
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Book Review: Navigating the choppy waters of private international law

Charles Wynn-Evans commends a comprehensive account of the principles of conflict of laws in the context of employment contracts ‘This work specifically concerns employment contracts in the international context, as distinct from employment protection or discrimination law more generally, and in that sense does exactly what it says on the tin.’ Employment Contracts in Private …
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Pre-Employment Checks: Barring scheme is overhauled

Richie Alder and Anna Scott summarise imminent changes intended to scale back the process for vetting staff who work with children and at-risk adults ‘Currently there is some uncertainty about whether individuals who come into contact with children or vulnerable adults but do not actually work with them, can be said to be carrying out …
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