In professional misconduct cases, a criminal investigation often sits alongside a disciplinary investigation. Employers do not want to wait for the outcome of the criminal case before concluding disciplinary proceedings, especially when the employee is suspended on full pay. The Court of Appeal looked at this issue in North West Anglia NHS Trust v Gregg, in a case involving a doctor.
Are you managing your millennials properly? Natalie Salunke, Head of Legal, Europe at Fleetcor, and a millennial herself, has written an article on this topic. ‘Millennial’ is a term used to describe the generation born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s. Whilst recognising that everyone is different, Ms Salunke offers her views on how to get the best out of millennials at work.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published new holiday pay guidance. The guidance was issued after a survey revealed an ‘alarming lack of awareness’ about holiday pay.
The survey showed that half of workers thought that those on zero hours contracts were not entitled to holiday pay. More than half thought they had to work three months before the right to holiday arose. The guidance aims to debunk those and other myths.
Continue ReadingThe worker status bubble has expanded recently and found its way into the public sector. In Braine v The National Gallery, an employment tribunal has held that art educators are workers when they are working on individual assignments.
Can an employer dismiss an employee for capability reasons when they are contractually entitled to long term disability benefits? No, not fairly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has said in Awan v ICTS.
Continue ReadingIn the year of the #metoo campaign, there have been numerous headlines about the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), often involving high profile people. NDAs are used to ensure past misdemeanours stay private. Many settlement agreements contain confidentiality provisions preventing employees talking about the deal and the events leading up to it.
Continue ReadingThe Ministry of Justice has suggested that employment tribunal fees may be reintroduced. The Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Justice said that a balance could be reached between increasing tribunal funding (via fees) and ensuring employees still had access to justice. He said the Unison Supreme Court case which resulted in fees being abolished did not rule out fees completely. What is important is getting the fees right and ensuring that people who cannot afford to pay can still bring a claim.
Continue ReadingACAS has published new guidance on performance management. It sets out what performance management is and why it is good for both the business and its employees. It sets out the benefits of good performance management systems. These include having motivated staff, getting the best out of employees, delivering projects effectively, and weeding out poor performance.
Continue ReadingIt looks like it might be a happy new year for vegans. The employment tribunal will decide in March 2019 whether ethical veganism is protected by the Equality Act 2010 as a ‘philosophical belief’, akin to a religion. Jordi Casamitjana will have to show that his ethical veganism meets the legal test: his belief is genuinely held; it is a belief rather than an opinion; it relates to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life; it attains a certain level of seriousness and cogency; and it deserves respect in a democratic society. He claims that he was dismissed by the League Against Cruel Sports because of his philosophical belief in veganism.
Continue ReadingDo workers lose the right to a payment in lieu of holiday at the end of their employment if they did not try to take it? No, said the Court of Justice of the European Union in Kreuziger v Berlin.
The employee worked for a German public sector employer. His employment ended but the employer would not pay him in lieu for untaken holiday. The employee brought a claim. The German court agreed with the employer. It relied on national rules saying payment in lieu was only necessary if the employee had been prevented from taking the holiday by matters beyond his control. The appeal court doubted this were true and referred the matter to the CJEU.
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