Personal injury damages for failing to provide a 20-minute break
Under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR), workers are entitled to an unpaid 20-minute rest break after working six hours. During this 20-minute break, workers must not be required to perform any duties. We look at the recent case of Grange v Abellio London Ltd, where the EAT held that (1) An employer acts unlawfully by even not accommodating (as opposed to refusing) the 20-minute rest...Read More 0
Dismissed music lecturer wins £180,000
The Equality Act 2010 protects employees from being victimised. The employee must show that they were subjected to some negative treatment, as a result of a protected act (one of which is doing something for the purposes of discrimination). Wrongful dismissal is essentially a claim for breach of contract, generally brought by employees who allege they weren’t paid their notice pay entitlement....Read More 0
Paternity rights and premature babies
In light of news of this remarkable birth we highlight that recent press reports have highlighted that new fathers of premature babies have inadequate paternity rights. They have to return to work after just 2 weeks’ leave. Their tiny babies may be hospital for long periods of time with life-threatening complications. The current paternity leave laws make no provision for this scenario. How...Read More 0
Can notice of dismissal be given by post?
If an employer doesn’t follow the correct procedure with notice of dismissal then it gives rise to legal claims. Except in cases of gross misconduct, an dismissed employee has the right to their statutory or contractual notice period (whichever is greater). An employer can give notice of dismissal by email, letter or in person (but writing is best, to avoid dispute about when it...Read More 1
Will this Christmas job ad lead to employment claims?
We saw this job vacancy on the internet. You might ask what is wrong with seeking a bearded retiree to a deliver parcels by sleigh and be paid in mince pies and sherry – after all this has been the protocol for centuries! Well, it’s bound to lead to employment claims for this recruiter. Let’s take it apart: Discrimination The Equality Act requires a recruiter to consider a wide...Read More 0
Is veganism protected by discrimination laws?
For the first time, an employment tribunal will decide whether veganism is a ‘philosophical belief’. That will decide whether or not it can be protected under by the discrimination laws (the Equality Act 2010) for the purposes of discrimination, like a religious belief. Jordi Casamitjana (a vegan) claims that the League Against Cruel Sports dismissed him because he raised concerns that they...Read More 0
Lisa’s settlement agreement renegotiation
From time to time we tell you about a Birmingham employment law case we have recently dealt with. Our other stories are here. This is the story of Lisa, who was asked to leave (with a settlement agreement offering him £25,000) after 23 years. When an employee calls us to say that their employer has asked them to leave like this we direct them to our page on settlement agreements. We explain...Read More 0
Harassment at work: Context is everything
Harassment at work commonly leads to employment tribunal claims for discrimination. The employee must show that an individual suffered: (1) unwanted conduct (that is related to a protected characteristic (i.e. age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation); (2) that has the purpose or effect of violating dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile,...Read More 0
Could settlement agreement confidentiality clauses be banned?
The latest target of the #MeToo movement could be settlement agreement confidentiality. It is currently being reported that the Government is to examine use of NDAs in employment disputes. An NDA is a ‘Non Disclosure Agreement’, a legally-enforceable promise by an employee not to reveal, eg that they have suffered from discrimination or other breaches of employment rights. These...Read More 0
Gay cake and sexuality discrimination
Sexuality discrimination is outlawed both in the workplace and when buying goods and services. In order to prove direct discrimination, the employee or customer must show that the business treated them less favourably than they would have treated others because of one or more of what are known as the protected characteristics. These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil...Read More 0
