HR / Employment Law News

Latest tribunal stats make ominous reading for employers

The latest employment tribunal statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period October to December 2018. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (which were introduced in July 2013 and abolished in July 2017) and Acas Early Conciliation (which was introduced in May 2014). The stats show that there was an increase of 23% in the

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1st April 2019

Can employers afford to ignore their employees’ health and wellbeing?

Being told that they should look after the health and wellbeing of their employees, and engage them, may not get an enthusiastic reception from managers whose primary focus is the bottom line. However, identifying the consequences of neglecting these areas might put a different spin on things. Stress can turn into depression, short-term absence can quickly become long-term, medical conditions evolve into disabilities, and if employment is terminated without considering reasonable adjustments, this could result in claims of Disability Discrimination.

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21st February 2019

EU Settlement Scheme Overview

As the date on which Britain will exit the European Union draws ever closer, and with a continued lack of clarity on how Brexit will affect us, it is undoubtedly a difficult and unsettling time for both EU citizens and their families in the UK, and for their employers. Whilst there is no requirement for employers to explicitly advise employees of what they need to do to remain in the UK, EML has been providing clients with relevant and practical

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31st January 2019

The Employment Law implications of Jose Mourinho’s sacking

If there’s one thing that changes almost as frequently as employment law, it’s football managers…particularly at the latter-day Manchester United! In April 2014, United parted company with David Moyes, its first manager since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, after less than one year in post and on account of the club’s disappointing season. Moyes’ successor, Louis Van Gaal, appointed in June 2014, lasted just two years before being handed his P45. Now, Van Gaal’s successor, Jose Mourinho, has been

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24th December 2018

The importance of having a contract of employment from day one

The general rule of thumb is that an employment contract or statement of written particulars need only be issued within the first two months of employment. For this reason, many employers will hold off dealing with the additional administrative work until such time that they are confident that the employee will continue beyond the two months. However, a recent case has emphasised the importance of complying with the legal requirement set out in the section 1(2) of the Employments Right

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22nd December 2018

Government ponders the reintroduction of tribunal fees

The Law Society Gazette is reporting that the Government is considering reintroducing tribunal fees. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is convinced that a fee system can be found which does not deny claimants access to justice, as indicated by a written answer in Hansard earlier this year which stated that it was reviewing how (as opposed to whether) it would reintroduce tribunal fees. Fees for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal were introduced in 2013,

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9th November 2018

Reforming Employment Law Hearing Structures – Is there bad news on the horizon for employers?

On 26th September 2018 the Law Commission issued a consultation paper on Employment Law Hearing Structures. The consultation is due to conclude on 11th January 2019 after which recommendations will be presented to the Government. So what might be in store for Employment Law hearings and how might this impact on employers? One of the proposals set out in the paper is an extension of the limitation periods in Employment Tribunal, in most cases extending this to 6 months. For

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28th September 2018

Is this the end of the 9-5?

If you look around any town centre, shopping mall, or in fact, any location where young people can be found en masse, there will almost certainly be a common image. That is of young people, the future workforce, with their heads down, scrolling or tapping away on their phone, often whilst with their friends. The simple fact of the matter is that this is modern communication. WhatsApp, Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram (don’t for one second try to add Facebook to

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22nd August 2018

Government report makes sexual harassment recommendations

According to a BBC survey in November 2017, a startling 40% of British women, and 18% of British men stated that they had experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace. Sexual harassment in the workplace is, and has been, at the forefront of our attention for a number of months following the rise of the #MeToo movement and the ‘Time’s Up’ campaign. More recently, this has been further added to by the report produced by the ‘Women and Equalities Commission’,

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16th August 2018

Court of Appeal ruling: Sleeping on the job

The Court of Appeal has ruled that carers that sleep overnight at a client’s home, are not entitled to the minimum wage whilst sleeping. In consideration of Royal Mencap Society v Claire Tomlinson Blake and John Shannon v Jaikisham and Prithee Rampersad (trading as Clifton House Residential Home), the Court of Appeal found that any employee that stays the night at a disabled, elderly or vulnerable person’s home, are only entitled to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) while they are

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19th July 2018

Religion / Belief Discrimination Myth Busters – Holiday requests relating to religion or belief

Acas recently published new guidance on religion and belief to help employers prevent discrimination on these grounds in the workplace. To assist employers further, we’ve produced another series of “myth busters” to help separate fact from fiction in this area, all of which will be published on our website over the coming weeks. Of course, if you’re an employer and would like to discuss any of the issues touched on in these posts, please contact one of our HR consultants in confidence

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28th June 2018

Religion / Belief Discrimination Myth Busters – Discrimination against members of the same religion

Acas recently published new guidance on religion and belief to help employers prevent discrimination on these grounds in the workplace. To assist employers further, we’ve produced another series of “myth busters” to help separate fact from fiction in this area, all of which will be published on our website over the coming weeks. Of course, if you’re an employer and would like to discuss any of the issues touched on in these posts, please contact one of our HR consultants in confidence

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21st June 2018

Religion / Belief - Refusing to do the job

Religion / Belief Discrimination Myth Busters – Refusing to do the job

Acas recently published new guidance on religion and belief to help employers prevent discrimination on these grounds in the workplace. To assist employers further, we’ve produced another series of “myth busters” to help separate fact from fiction in this area, all of which will be published on our website over the coming weeks. Of course, if you’re an employer and would like to discuss any of the issues touched on in these posts, please contact one of our HR consultants

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14th June 2018

Religion / Belief Discrimination Myth Busters – Dress Codes

Acas recently published new guidance on religion and belief to help employers prevent discrimination on these grounds in the workplace. To assist employers further, we’ve produced another series of “myth busters” to help separate fact from fiction in this area, all of which will be published on our website over the coming weeks. Of course, if you’re an employer and would like to discuss any of the issues touched on in these posts, please contact one of our HR consultants

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8th June 2018

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