Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Disability discriminationMaternityMarriage and civil partnership discriminationTrade unionsHolidays and holiday pay

Employment law: 10 cases to look out for in 2014

by Stephen Simpson 3 Jan 2014
by Stephen Simpson 3 Jan 2014

There are very important employment law cases pending on collective redundancy consultation and the calculation of holiday pay. Other notable employment law judgment expected in 2014 cover post-employment victimisation, maternity rights for mothers in a surrogacy arrangement, trade union recognition, discrimination against civil partners in pensions, and disability discrimination. We round up 10 of the significant legal decisions expected in 2014.

Collective redundancy consultation

  • Usdaw v Ethel Austin Ltd (in administration); Usdaw and another v WW Realisation 1 Ltd and others (Court of Appeal) The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the words “at one establishment” should be deleted from s.188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. As a result of this decision, an employer that is proposing 20 or more redundancies across the whole organisation within a period of 90 days or less will have collective consultation obligations. The case now proceeds to the Court of Appeal.
  • Lyttle and others v Bluebird UK Bidco 2 Ltd (ECJ) Unbeknownst to the EAT when it gave its decision in the above case, a Northern Ireland tribunal has referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the question of whether or not legislation that requires collective redundancy consultation only where an employer is proposing to make redundant 20 or more employees “at one establishment” is compatible with European law.
  • United States of America v Nolan (Court of Appeal) The ECJ has batted away questions from the Court of Appeal asking for guidance on when the obligation to consult collectively on redundancies is triggered. Employers will be hoping that the Court of Appeal, which will now consider the case without the help of the European court, now provides some pointers on when the obligation is triggered.

Holiday pay

  • Neal v Freightliner Ltd (EAT) The employment tribunal controversially held that a worker’s overtime should be included in the calculation of holiday pay. This decision is to be appealed to the EAT.
  • Lock v British Gas Trading Ltd (ECJ) The employment tribunal referred to the ECJ a number of questions on the relationship between holiday pay and commission, including whether or not “normal pay” when calculating pay for annual leave should include contractual payments received through commission.

Victimisation

  • Taiwo v Olaigbe and another; Rowstock Ltd and another v Jessemey and another; Akwiwu and another v Onu; Onu v Akwiwu and another (Court of Appeal) Two separate EAT cases have come to contradictory conclusions on whether or not the wording of the Equality Act 2010 covers victimisation that occurs after the end of employment. The Court of Appeal will decide which one is right.

Maternity rights

  • CD v ST (ECJ) The employment tribunal made a reference to the ECJ asking about the maternity rights of women who have a child through a surrogate mother. As UK law stands, mothers in a surrogacy arrangement do not have the same employment rights as conventional mothers, although the UK Government has already promised to amend domestic maternity laws to take account of surrogacy.

Trade unions

  • Pharmacists’ Defence Association Union v Boots Management Services Ltd (High Court) The Central Arbitration Committee has ruled that sch.A1 to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which deals with the admissibility of applications for union recognition, is not compliant with art.11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which covers the right to freedom of assembly and association. The case now moves on to the High Court.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Pensions

  • Walker v Innospec Ltd and others (EAT) The employment tribunal held that the Equality Act 2010 fails to provide the required protection under EU law for a couple in a civil partnership who were denied accrual of benefits to which married couples were entitled under a pension scheme. The EAT is to consider whether or not the tribunal was right in its decision.

Disability discrimination

  • FOA, acting on behalf of Karsten Kaltoft v Billund Kommune (ECJ) A Danish court has referred to the ECJ various questions about whether or not obesity is covered by EU legislation, including whether or not obesity can be deemed to be a disability under the Equal Treatment Framework Directive.
Stephen Simpson

Stephen Simpson is Principal HR Strategy and Practice Editor at Brightmine. His areas of responsibility include the policies and documents and law reports. After obtaining a law degree and training to be a solicitor, he moved into publishing, initially with Butterworths. He joined Brightmine in its early days in 2001.

previous post
The implications of occupational health’s ageing workforce
next post
Employee health linked to performance

You may also like

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

Restaurant tips should be included in holiday pay

21 May 2025

Ryanair demands flight attendants pay back salary increase

21 May 2025

Union rep teacher awarded £370k for unfair dismissal

15 May 2025

Tribunal finds need for degree in redundancy selection...

14 May 2025

TPT to launch multi-employer CDC pension scheme

12 May 2025

Construction workers win compensation claim against defunct employer

9 May 2025

NHS worker awarded £29k after Darth Vader comparison

8 May 2025

How can businesses build protections for gig workers?

7 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+