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Take it away - continuing to work did not mean employees agreed to contractual change

In 2015, various UK government departments withdrew employees’ right to have union subscriptions deducted automatically from their pay. In Secretary of State for the Home Department v Cox, the Court of Appeal of England and...more

Small print - UK government publishes more detail on employment law reform

Last week the UK government announced that it was planning to make changes to the Working Time Regulations and one aspect of TUPE. It has now published a consultation paper providing further detail about the proposed reforms....more

Time please - UK government announces Brexit-related employment law changes

The government has announced that it will not repeal most retained EU law at the end of the year as originally planned. However, it is planning to use Brexit-related freedoms to amend some aspects of the Working Time...more

Looking up - government guidance for UK employers on positive action

The Equality Act permits some forms of positive action to address disadvantage, different needs or low participation rates amongst groups sharing a protected characteristic. The UK government has published new guidance to...more

Guidance for UK employers on voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting

In March 2022, the UK government confirmed that it would not require employers to report their ethnicity pay gaps because it was unwilling to impose new business burdens. However, it wanted to encourage reporting and...more

All change? UK government reviews whistleblowing laws

In March 2021, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) announced that it would review the UK’s whistleblowing framework but did not give a timescale for the exercise. BEIS’ successor, the Department...more

Fire and rehire - UK government publishes draft Code of Practice

Last year the UK government promised to introduce a statutory Code of Practice setting out the standards employers should observe if they are considering dismissing and re-engaging staff as a way of changing employee terms...more

UK EAT finds impact on other staff meant proposed adjustment for disabled employee not reasonable

In Hilaire v Luton Borough Council, the UK EAT found that it was not a reasonable adjustment simply to slot a disabled employee into a new organisational structure as part of a redundancy exercise. Although this would have...more

Enhanced family-friendly rights for UK employees

The UK government recently announced its support for two more Private Members’ Bills. These will give employees additional protection against redundancy if they are pregnant or returning from family-related leave and a new...more

Sunset for IR35 and (some) retained EU law

In separate developments, the UK government announced two potentially significant changes for employers. The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill could mean that at least some EU-derived employment law will expire on...more

Playing catch up - summer employment law developments

There were a surprising number of employment-related developments in the UK over the traditional summer holiday period. We highlight new employment status guidance, government support for neonatal care leave and fair...more

Bonus - employer would have terminated contract in least burdensome way

The Court of Appeal in England and Wales has confirmed that in a wrongful dismissal claim, damages can reflect the least burdensome way of terminating an employment contract. In Mackenzie v AA Ltd, this meant that even if the...more

Try it out - ill health dismissal discrimination when alternative role not properly trialled

Dismissing an employee for long term sickness absence could be discrimination arising from a disability if an employer cannot show that the dismissal is objectively justified. The recent UK EAT decision in Department for Work...more

Pay up - unilateral pay award an unlawful inducement related to collective bargaining

In INEOS Infrastructure Grangemouth Ltd v Jones, the EAT in Scotland found that it was an unlawful inducement relating to collective bargaining for an employer to make a unilateral pay award to employees after pay...more

Small beer - no Employment Bill but extended ban on exclusivity clauses

The long-awaited Employment Bill is no closer to being put before Parliament, after there was no mention of it in the Queen’s Speech. However, in a separate announcement, the UK government has said that it will extend the...more

Struck out - no protection against detriment for participating in industrial action

Overturning a decision of the EAT, in Mercer v Alternative Future Group Ltd the Court of Appeal for England and Wales found that private sector workers are not protected against being subjected to a detriment by their...more

Balancing act - agency worker had a right to be informed of vacancies, not to apply

In Kocur v Angard Staffing Solutions Ltd, the Court of Appeal for England and Wales confirmed that agency workers have a right to be informed about vacancies in a hirer, not a right to apply for them on the same terms as...more

Worker entitled to carry taken but unpaid holiday forward to end of employment

In Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd the Court of Appeal for England and Wales allowed a worker to carry forward statutory holiday he had accrued during the course of his employment, which he had taken but not been paid for, until...more

Promises, promises - High Court prevents employer dismissing and re-engaging staff

The High Court of Justice for England and Wales has prevented an employer from dismissing employees and offering to re-engage them on new terms. As the employer was seeking to remove a right to enhanced pay that it had...more

Fair to dismiss unvaccinated care home worker

An English employment tribunal decided that it was fair for an employer to dismiss a care home worker when she refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, employers should not assume that the decision means that it...more

Only joking - UK employer not liable for workplace horseplay

In Chell v Tarmac Cement and Lime Ltd, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales confirmed that an employer was not vicariously liable when a workplace prank carried out by one of its employees injured another person working...more

UK government consults on mandatory disability reporting

When the UK government announced its national disability strategy in July, it promised to consult on whether to make disability reporting mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees. The consultation paper has now been...more

Don't delay - employee did not agree to extend flexible working timetable

In Walsh v Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd the UK EAT found that an employee had not agreed to an extension to the normal three month time frame for deciding flexible working requests when he agreed to attend an appeal...more

Avoiding fire and rehire - ACAS publishes guidance

Using “fire and rehire” as a way to implement changes to terms and conditions of employment has become increasingly controversial in the UK in recent years. In October the government blocked legislation that would have made...more

Jumping the gun - direct offer to employees was unlawful inducement

The UK Supreme Court found in Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley that it was an unlawful inducement for an employer to offer a pay deal to employees “over the head” of its recognised trade union. However, the position would have been...more

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