In the recent case of The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (Cultural Bureau) v Alhayali, the Claimant worked for the Respondent in their Cultural Affairs department where her duties included supporting Saudi students in the UK on cultural projects.
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision reminds employers that contractual terms cannot be used if their effect is to subvert or limit statutory employment rights.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court handed down their judgment in the case of Independent Workers Union of Great Britain v CAC. The Union had applied to the CAC for recognition in respect of a group of riders working for Deliveroo.
In the recent case of Lutz v Ryanair DAC and others, the Claimant was supplied to Ryanair as a pilot under a 5 year agreement via a company called MCG Aviation Limited.
Paragraph 1 to schedule 9 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the general occupational requirement exception, which applies to direct discrimination claims. There will be no liability for direct discrimination where holding a particular protected characteristic (or, in some cases, not holding it) is an occupational requirement.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal recently looked in detail at the definition of disability under Equality Act 2010 and, in particular, what should be regarded as ‘day to day activities’ when considering whether a Claimant’s impairment has a substantial adverse impact on day to day activities.
During demanding times, many companies need to bring in temporary staff members to help take on the additional work. Seasonal workers can provide an effective short-term solution, however, it is important that you do not neglect their rights.
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision reminds employers that it is crucially important that redundancy proposals are shared with the workforce at a formative stage. Failure to do so could make any resulting dismissals unfair. In Joseph de Bank Haycocks v ADP RPO UK Limited, the Claimant and the wider workforce were not consulted about redundancy proposals before pooling and scoring took place. The criteria for selection and the Claimant’s own scores were not provided to him before his dismissal. This information was, however, provided on appeal. The EAT held that the failure to consult at a formative stage meant that the dismissal was unfair. The EAT held that ‘whilst the appeal could correct any missing aspect of the individual consultation process (e.g. the provision of the claimant’s …scores), it could not repair [the] gap of consultation in the formative stage’.
Bhajan Khalsa joined Bermans in October 2023 and is currently a Trainee Solicitor in the ABL Litigation team in Manchester.
Bhajan deals with contentious and non-contentious matters. The contentious work he is involved in includes bringing/defending claims against directors arising out of insolvencies.
He completed the LPC at Huddersfield University and has previous experience working in asset finance and invoice finance work for a broad range of lenders.
Jason McKnight is a partner and director of RECOM Solutions, a construction and project management business based in Salford Quays which operates across the north west and beyond.