Employment News

How Private is an Employee's 'Private Correspondence' in the Workplace?

The  European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) considered this issue in the recent case of Bărbulescu v. Romania.  

Mr Bărbulescu was employed as an engineer in charge of sales. Read more

2015 Employment Law Round Up and a look ahead

The most publicly heralded “new law” from the Government in 2015 was the introduction of shared parental leave (SPL) for all babies born or adopted on or after 5th April 2015. Read more

Part-Time Workers - Working Patterns & Holiday Pay

Where a part-time worker increases their working hours, is the employer obliged to recalculate the holiday entitlement retrospectively?  No, confirmed the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case of Greenfield -v- The Care Bureau Limited. Read more

Autumn Employment Law Changes

As of today, 1st October 2015, employers should be aware of a number of changes to employment law which have now come into effect. These include: 

Increasing the rate of the national minimum wage as follows:
Apprentice rate, from £2. 73 per hour to £3. Read more

Disciplinary Actions - Consistency of Treatment

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) recently confirmed in the case of MBNA Limited -v- Jones that inconsistency of treatment will not necessarily render a dismissal unfair. Read more

Transfer of Undertakings - Who counts as a “defined group member”?

The issue of which employees are “assigned” to a particular grouping of employees in a change of service provider under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“the TUPE Regulations”) was considered recently by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the case of BT Managed Services Ltd –v-… Read more

The Right to be Accompanied and the Obligation of Trust and Confidence

The High Court has held, in the case of Stevens v University of Birmingham, that an employer’s refusal to allow a representative of a professional defence organisation to accompany an employee to an investigative meeting was unfair, and a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. Read more

Accrual of Annual leave During Sick Leave

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in the case of Plumb v Duncan Print Group Ltd that a worker who is off sick and is unable or unwilling to take annual leave, is entitled to carry forward that leave for up to 18 months after the end of leave… Read more

Alcohol in the Work Place and Unfair Dismissal

Is it unfair to dismiss an employee who arrives for work smelling of alcohol?

Not necessarily confirmed the Employment Tribunal in the case of McElroy v Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust.  

Mr McElroy was employed by the NHS Trust as a Health Care Assistant. Read more

Pre-Election Employment Law Reforms

The end of May 2015 saw the introduction of a number of employment related reforms which were agreed by the previous coalition government. Read more