The Employment Rights Bill continues its parliamentary ping pong. High levels of tribunal claims are putting ACAS under pressure; the government responds by increasing the early conciliation period to 12 weeks. The government...more
In this edition, we provide an update on the current status of the Employment Rights Bill, marking one year since its introduction to Parliament. We also examine the government’s proposals to broaden pay gap reporting under...more
Our employment law update for September covers a case on the limits of whistleblowing protection and fair dismissal procedures, an EAT decision on the consequences of delay in amending claims, and a High Court ruling on...more
Since its election in July 2024, the left-leaning UK government has taken steps toward implementing its flagship “New Deal for Working People” billed as the biggest strengthening of employment rights in a generation....more
The return of our monthly format for employment law updates sees new cases on whether a failure to carry out ACAS Early Conciliation is fatal to claims progressing, whether a claimant after proceedings are ongoing can add new...more
The importance of whistleblowers cannot be understated for ensuring the highest standards are maintained in financial services businesses. Outside the realm of financial services, the #MeToo movement has renewed the focus...more
November saw several significant developments in employment law through the courts and following the Labour Government’s Autumn Budget, announced on 30 October 2024....more
This week we summarise three very recent developments in employment law, one involving the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) and two new cases....more
The UK employment law landscape is rapidly changing following the election of the Labour government. New legislation coming into force on 26 October 2024 that tackles sexual harassment in the workplace and the recently...more
As the dust settles on last week’s unveiling of the Employment Rights Bill, we examine what it means in practice for employers. It’s an early Christmas present - You could be forgiven for thinking that you need to hire...more
This week we cover certain selected areas of the Employment Rights Bill, published on 10 October 2024. It is Labour’s flagship employment legislation....more
2024 has been a fruitful year in the UK for whistleblowing law so far, with three key cases employers should be aware of: Can an external job applicant qualify as a whistleblower?...more
Following last week's pre-election guide on qualifying periods and statutory time-limits, we focus this week on Labour’s plan to simplify the law on employment status....more
Our February update includes a case on the issue of whether job applicants can bring whistleblowing claims, and a case on who pays what compensation to a successful claimant. We also feature a news round-up looking at what...more
Our October update includes a significant Supreme Court decision on how to treat historic underpayments of holiday pay, a preliminary tribunal hearing on whether a belief in race equality that opposed critical race theory was...more
While there are a number of ways in which organizations may become aware of potential wrongdoing internally, perhaps the most significant for its legal and compliance teams is internal reporting, or “whistleblowing,” by...more
Numerous multinationals allow their employees globally to elect whether to take their equity award grants as stock options and/or restricted stock units (RSUs). These “choice programs” provide employees with autonomy in their...more
Our November update includes new case law on settlement agreements, particularly the extent to which they can prevent future claims, satisfying statutory requirements for protected disclosures in whistleblowing cases and an...more
Our July update includes new case law on Long covid being held to be a disability, challenging the privileged status of “without prejudice” correspondence, and an unfair dismissal case in which a Tribunal made an overall...more
In Rodgers v. Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision that dismissal of an employee who refused to work due to COVID-19 safety concerns was not unfair....more
Key Takeaways for Employers - The UK’s Court of Appeal has issued a significant holiday pay decision, Smith v Pimlico Plumbers [2022] EWCA Civ 70, ruling that workers who were misclassified as independent contractors can...more
On 23 September, the UK government published a consultation document, “Making flexible working the default”, which proposes various reforms to the right for employees to request flexible working arrangements—particularly in...more
As the “return to the office” push gathers steam, case law relating to the COVID-19 pandemic is now filtering through the UK’s Employment Tribunal system. The decisions made by employers in respect of staff who refused to...more
After 18 months of almost entirely remote working, we have seen much of the City now implementing ‘Back to the Office’ policies and on Monday 6 September central London saw its busiest day on public transport since the...more
COVID-19- automatic unfair dismissal for employee who remained in Italy during outbreak - A Tribunal has found, in the case of Montanaro v Lansafe Limited, that an employee who had travelled from the UK to Italy for the...more