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The presence of a person on an employer’s grievance hearing panel who was perceived to be biased could amount to a fundamental breach of contract and give rise to a constructive unfair dismissal, explains David Ludlow ‘The principles of natural justice require that the hearing afforded to the employee is, in all the circumstances, a …
Continue reading "Grievance Hearings: Beware of apparent bias"
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Andrew Burns asks whether the courts will be able to stop public sector workers going on a general strike in protest at government cuts ‘The statutory provisions governing a ballot are complex and detailed, and have been amended over the years so that Part V of TULRCA could be described as a minefield for the …
Continue reading "Industrial Relations: Autumn of discontent"
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As the unions gear up for a fight over changes to public sector pensions, David Gallagher and Peter Holt suggest a new strategy for employers to challenge the legality of planned strike action ‘The normal retirement age, at which a full pension is payable without an actuarial reduction, varies across the different schemes.’ One of …
Continue reading "Industrial Action: How employers can strike back"
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Matthew Ramsey and Jenny Steer consider how employers should respond if an employee is arrested or charged with an offence by the police ‘The statutory ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures sets out the essentials of a reasonable investigation. The precise requirements of the process will vary from case to case, but …
Continue reading "Disciplinary Procedures: Dismissing for criminal behaviour"
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Stephen Ratcliffe and Colin Leckey examine the impact of a recent Supreme Court decision about when courts and tribunals should disregard express written contractual terms ‘The Supreme Court’s decision provides welcome clarification of the circumstances in which an employment relationship may arise even where this contradicts express written terms.’ The Supreme Court in Autoclenz Ltd …
Continue reading "Employment Status: Are contract terms worth the paper they’re written on?"
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Suzanne Horne analyses the key issues for employment lawyers raised by the new protections for agency workers coming into force next month ‘Agency workers will be entitled to access facilities and information on job vacancies from day one of their assignment. However, to qualify for the other rights, they must work 12 calendar weeks in …
Continue reading "Agency Workers: A temporary challenge"
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Kate Barker and Jo Broadbent examine the use of dismissal and re-engagement on less pay as a way of avoiding redundancies ‘Tribunals will adopt the wrong approach if they set the hurdle too high in determining whether an employer’s reasons for a change justify subsequent dismissals.’ In these troubled economic times employers are continuing to …
Continue reading "Changing Terms And Conditions: Going down"
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Most employees will not be entitled to a lawyer at disciplinary hearings following an important Supreme Court ruling, reports Laura Kearsley ‘The employer should try to accommodate the chosen representative unless they would prejudice the hearing or create a conflict of interest.’ Employees’ right to be accompanied at formal disciplinary and grievance meetings is well …
Continue reading "Right To Be Accompanied: New guidance on legal representation"
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Employers need to take care when monitoring employees or hiring private investigators to gather evidence about their activities, warn David Green and Caroline Buckley ‘More sophisticated technology makes it easier for employers to investigate what their employees are doing, but they do not have an unfettered right to monitor individuals’ activities.’ In a recent case, …
Continue reading "Surveillance At Work: Watching the detectives"
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Preventing a Muslim employee from leaving a site he was guarding to attend Friday prayers has been found to be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, explains Bob Fahy ‘In Cherfi v G4S Security Service Ltd, the EAT did not seem to hold the tribunal to a particularly rigorous standard when it came …
Continue reading "Religious Discrimination: Weighing workers’ rights against operational needs"
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