Employment Law

“This is one of those unfortunate cases…in which, it is, no doubt, a hardship upon the plaintiff to be without a remedy but by that consideration we ought not to be influenced. Hard cases, it has frequently been observed, are apt to introduce bad law.” Those were the words of Baron Rolfe J in Winterbottom […]

HM Courts and Tribunal Services (‘HMCTS’)  has finally announced that the much anticipated introduction of fees into the Employment Tribunal system will take effect from Monday 29 July 2013. From this date, any claim presented to the Employment Tribunal will be subject to the new fee regime. This means that Claimants will now have to […]

New proposals issued by the government aim to radically change the statutory framework for parental leave to raise a newborn. Traditionally the position is: Men have a statutory 2 week right to paternity leave; and Women can take up to a year off, with 39 weeks of that being paid at the statutory rate. The current government […]

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) now inspects all GP practices in England to ensure that national standards of quality and safety are being met locally. Such inspections are to take place at least every two years and, whilst 48 hours notice will normally be given of an inspection, the CQC has the power to turn […]

Stella English, self proclaimed ‘lackey’ lost her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar last month. After initially working for Viglen, she left because she was unhappy and was moved to another company, YouView. Lord Sugar had become non Executive Chairman of this company. Three months later however, she resigned, alleging that her employer had […]

The purpose of any disciplinary procedure is to help and encourage all employees to accomplish and sustain standards of conduct, attendance and job performance.  It is this area of law that employers often require the most advice on. Fairness of an Old Warning  An interesting question has recently been raised in case law on this […]

The embarrassing and potentially devastating effects of an uncensored Twitter profile are all too real for Paris Brown (17) as inappropriate tweets from her past have been revealed in the news. Tweets which have been considered to be racist and homophobic were posted by Miss Brown when she was in her earlier teens. They have […]

For a start, let’s dispel a myth. A person doesn’t have to be “registered” to be disabled. The concept of registration was introduced by the National Assistance Act of 1948 , and made appearances in social security legislation in the years that followed, but was already antiquated by the time of the Disability Discrimination Act […]

The Growth and Infrastructure Bill 2012-2013  (the Bill) by Clause 27, proposes to introduce the concept of ‘employee shareholders’. My colleague Tom Moyes first commented on this concept on 10 October 2012 . Essentially, an employee shareholder would be given shares in the employer company in exchange for waiving certain employment rights such as: unfair […]

For those of you who do not already know, this week is National Apprenticeship Week. This year is the sixth annual event and each year it increases in popularity . Apprenticeships: You’re Fired! Subject to compliance with specified conditions, new legislation now allows employers to engage in contracts of service with apprentices, rather than contracts […]

Winner of the 2010 Apprentice series , Stella English, is claiming constructive dismissal after complaining colleagues at one of Lord Sugar’s companies (Viglen) ‘ostracised’ her. She alleges she was seen as nothing more than an ‘over-paid lackey’ and branded the job a ‘sham’, with none of the mentorship and care from Lord Sugar she believed […]

With the tennis industry becoming increasingly commercial, greater emphasis needs to be placed on fostering healthy club-coach relationships. Research shows the most successful tennis facilities are those where there is a strong mutual respect between club and coach with the coach placing themselves at the heart of club activities. At the same time coaches need […]