The Government has published its response to a review of employment tribunal rules. Two key things to note include the fact that, under the new rules, where a tribunal claimant withdraws their claim, this could result in it being formally dismissed,   More...
15 March 2013 16:33

The Government has set out a number of forthcoming legal amendments due to take place as a result of its employment law review, which set out to analyse aspects of regulation that affect the employment relationship. The report, "Employment law 2013:  More...
15 March 2013 14:42

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced that the NHS will no longer be able to gag former employees from speaking out about issues in the public interest. Confidentiality clauses in compromise agreements have been used by NHS employers to stop fo  More...
14 March 2013 16:18

Haq v Audit Commission FACTS Until 2007, the two kinds of administrative support role in the Audit Commission's housing inspectorate were: inspection and information officer (IIO); and senior inspection and information officer (SIIO).   More...
12 March 2013 08:44

The House of Lords has voted to add "caste" to the definition of "race" in the Equality Act, but the Government has decided against any change to legislation preferring to implement an education programme. The Government Equalities Office has commi  More...
05 March 2013 14:43

Parents will be entitled to 18 weeks' unpaid parental leave per child from 8 March 2013, an increase from the current 13 weeks. Both men and women are entitled to parental leave, relating to dependents under the age of five. For each child who receiv  More...
04 March 2013 16:25

If an employee is awarded a far greater sum of money as part of an enhanced redundancy package than their younger colleague, most HR professionals would cry "age discrimination". However, under the veil of public interest, things are not quite that  More...
04 March 2013 14:54

The number of new corporate manslaughter cases opened by the Crown Prosecution Service has risen by 40% in the past year, according to latest statistics from law firm Pinsent Masons. There were 63 cases opened in 2012, compared with 45 cases in 2011  More...
03 March 2013 00:01

Lone workers can face risks those in an office environment may not even think about. Walter Brennan explains how to evaluate these and handle them effectively. As with any other form of work, employers are expected to undertake a risk assessment befo  More...
01 March 2013 00:01

The amount of newsprint devoted to the Liberal Democrats and allegations of harassment (to say nothing of other recent high-profile cases) highlights yet again the importance of dealing fairly, and quickly, with accusations of sexual harassment, says Ai  More...
28 February 2013 17:00

Solicitor Nisha Patel sets out some practical tips for tier 2 sponsors to follow before and during an inspection visit. Employers that employ foreign nationals under tier 2 of the points-based system must comply with certain duties under their spon  More...
26 February 2013 15:14

Employers and working families have been asked for their input on the detail of how the new system for shared parental leave will work. An initial consultation, launched today, will look at how the current arrangements for maternity and paternity le  More...
25 February 2013 16:20

Société Genérale, London Branch v Geys FACTS Mr Geys was employed by Société Genérale, London Branch from February 2005 as a managing director in the bank. Mr Geys' contract of employment provided that: either party could terminate his em  More...
25 February 2013 12:02

Despite overwhelming opposition, the Government is pressing ahead with the repeal of the third-party harassment provisions in the Equality Act 2010 – a serious blow in the broader context of promoting equal opportunities within the workplace, say employ  More...
25 February 2013 00:01

Amanda Jones and Alan Delaney look at the decisions in four recent cases of religious discrimination and discuss their potential effects. Judgment in the cases of four Christian employees in January , who all claimed that their employers' practices   More...
25 February 2013 00:01

The law surrounding constructive dismissal can often create headaches for employers. It can be difficult to know what constitutes a breach of contract on the part of the employer that would entitle an employee to resign and raise a claim. Employmen  More...
19 February 2013 12:40

Solicitor Michael Scutt looks at the legal position behind the debate on so-called "gagging" clauses in compromise agreements. Who says history doesn't repeat itself? The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 came about because of a number of high-pro  More...
19 February 2013 12:07

The former head of an NHS trust last week described the culture of the health service as one of "fear and oppression" that is "driven by the top". Jo Faragher looks at the culture of confidentiality in the NHS. It was arguably very brave of Gar  More...
18 February 2013 10:29

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has published new guidance on managing religion and belief in the workplace , in the light of the recent European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgment in the case of Nadia Eweida. The ECHR foun  More...
15 February 2013 15:14

The Government has announced its intention to amend the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill to remove the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal where the alleged reason for dismissal is political opinion or affiliation. The move fol  More...
14 February 2013 16:14