Employment Law

Night work is in the news at the moment. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash is complaining that TfL’s plans to introduce all night services on some Tube lines will wreck the work-life balance of his members  – though when interviewed on the BBC’s Today programme he repeatedly side-stepped the observation that none of his members […]

As previously covered in my blog on 4 November 2014, recent case law now stipulates that regular non-guaranteed overtime should be included in holiday pay calculations. In these cases, such as Bear Scotland Ltd and others v Fulton and others, the overtime in question was related to tasks which the employees were contractually obliged to perform. […]

According to a report in 2014 there are 2.1 million users of E-Cigarettes in the UK. With their meteoric rise in popularity comes aggressive debate about their safety and serious questions about their legal status. Some studies suggest that they are comparatively safe and help smokers to quit tobacco, but other influential groups (notably the […]

Employers who provide company vehicles – or who expect employees to make use of their own – will generally make it an express term of an employee’s contract that, for example: the employee must hold a current UK driving licence the employee will produce the licence for inspection, on request, and the employee will report […]

On 27 May 2015, the Queen delivered her 62nd Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament. The event was arguably more notable for the absence of the traditional quip by Labour veteran MP Dennis Skinner (the result of fighting Scottish Nationalists for his traditional seat on the front bench, Skinner explained), than the fact […]

With the General Election on 7 May 2015 rapidly approaching and the final manifestos released, we take time to look at how the policies of the main political parties may impact on employment legislation. Though the main parties share some similarities when it comes to their policies (for example, they all propose increasing the National Minimum […]

Once HR has made time to draft them, most teachers will be provided with contracts of employment. They should clearly outline employees’ duties together with their respective contractual and statutory rights in accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996. Beyond this, employment issues in schools can often be dealt with in a manner not entirely […]

The long awaited decision in Lock v British Gas has finally been handed down by the Employment Tribunal (ET). Background Mr Lock worked as a sales consultant for British Gas where he received a basic salary of £1,222.50 per month plus commission in arrears. The commission varied month to month according to how many sales […]

Following my colleague Tom’s earlier blog entitled ‘Think before you type!’, the judiciary has provided us with a further example of what not to do whilst at work (on a judicial IT account). In Tom’s blog, he pointed out two recent UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions which have highlighted just how important it is […]

It would be a strange and comparatively silent world without Jeremy Clarkson grabbing the headlines every few months as the central character in another story of outrageous, politically incorrect, behaviour. And here we are again with the controversial Top Gear presenter accused of ‘punching’ a producer. Unfortunately for Clarkson, reports suggest he was already on […]

2014 was a big year in Employment Law as the Bear Scotland holiday pay case made the headlines at the close of the year. As we head into the third month of 2015, here are a few developments you may need to be aware of: Holiday Pay At the end of 2014 the EAT ruled […]

Two recent UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions have highlighted just how important it is for: employers to have properly drafted electronic communications and social media policies in place; and for employees to read those policies carefully and properly understand them. Failure to have sufficient policies in place to deal with behaviour relating to use […]