This month’s news
Tupe dismissals can be fair
Employers have been reassured that dismissals connected with the transfer of
an undertaking can be fair, following the controversial Kerry Foods v Creber
decision last year. In Collins v John Ansell & Partners, the EAT said it is
still open for an employer to argue the dismissal is fair if it is for an
economic, technical or organisational reason.
Openness ruling
Employers will come under increasing pressure to settle claims before they
reach tribunal if a decision in the High Court on publicising the details of
proceedings is upheld. The Government is appealing against the ruling that the
public has a right to information about tribunal claims.
Therapists finally win case
An equal pay case brought by a group of female NHS speech therapists has
ended after 15 years of legal wrangling with a £12m settlement with the women’s
union MSF. The union now intends to pursue similar cases in the insurance
sector.
Ignorance rife over DDA
Almost a third of companies from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 surveyed by law
firm Addleshaw Booth are not aware they need to change the way they provide
services to the public to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.
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Correction
In the April-May Q&A section, an answer by Kate Brearley, head of
employment at Stephenson Harwood and co-author of Employment Covenants and
Confidential Information, Law, Practice and Technique (Butterworths, 1999), was
incomplete. The last two sentences should have read: "One note of caution,
you cannot apply this type of prohibition to all your employees. It works in
the manager’s case because of the combined effect of his role and the value and
complexity of your contracts."
