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Spring 2023 Budget: Get back to work!
There was a definite theme running through the employment proposals announced in the Spring 2023 Budget: ‘Get back to work’!
Announcements included:
Continue ReadingRamadan – considerations for employers
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on 22 March 2023 and will end 29 or 30 days later. During Ramadan, adult Muslims observe a fast between dawn and dusk. Exceptions are made for those who are pregnant, menstruating or in poor health.
Continue ReadingLess favourable treatment of part-time workers
Adrian Fryer
It is not easy to imagine that the grumblings of a group of judges about their pay and conditions could be of wider relevance to other employers, but the recent case of Ministry of Justice v Dodds is an exception.
Continue ReadingMitigation of Loss in Unfair Dismissal cases
Adrian Fryer
Compensation for unfair dismissal normally includes loss of earnings flowing from the dismissal. When looking at this, Employment Tribunals will consider whether the employee has taken reasonable steps to mitigate their loss of earnings. A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision provides a helpful reminder to employers of the test that Tribunals will apply.
Continue ReadingA sensible limit on implied terms
Adrian Fryer
Credit Suisse have been in the news for all the wrong reasons over the last few weeks after financial woes led to a last-ditch merger with UBS. However, the Court of Appeal did deliver them some good news in the form of their judgment in the case of Benyatov v Credit Suisse (Securities) Europe Limited.
Continue ReadingTee-ing off at 10am? – remote working and the rise in demand for daytime leisure activities
Adrian Fryer
And finally, the New York Times has reported on an indirect economic benefit being felt in the USA as it embraces a post-COVID remote working culture: a surge in demand for daytime cosmetics, pampering and leisure services.
The report cites examples of 55 people playing golf at Chelsea Pier before 4pm on a Monday afternoon and customers holding zoom meetings whilst having their hair done.
Continue ReadingFirst Covid-related claim
Adrian Fryer
Sections 100(1)(d) and (e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provide employees with protection from dismissal if they leave the workplace, refuse to return to it, or take other steps to protect themselves, if they reasonably believe there is serious and imminent danger. The first Covid-related claim of this nature reached the Court of Appeal in Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting. The employee worked in a large warehouse with few other employees. There were Covid-related safety measures in place even before the first lockdown, including extra cleaning and social distancing. The employee worked the first week of lockdown but then messaged his manager to say he wouldn’t be coming to work until lockdown eased. He was worried about passing on the virus to his vulnerable child. He was dismissed a month later and brought an unfair dismissal claim.
Continue ReadingUnfair dismissal – redundancy
Adrian Fryer
If an employee wins an unfair dismissal case, the employment tribunal will decide how much compensation is due. If the employer has made procedural errors during the dismissal, and the tribunal decides that the employee would have been dismissed anyway had a fair procedure been followed, the tribunal can reduce compensation to zero. This principle is known as the Polkey principle – named after the case from which the principle derived. The EAT has considered this issue recently in Teixeira v Zaika Restaurants.
Continue ReadingDWP rate increases
Adrian Fryer
The DWP has published its annual increases for various employment related pay rates which will take effect in April 2023. Statutory maternity, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will increase from £156.66 to £172.48. Statutory sick pay will go up from £99.35 to £109.40.
National minimum wage levels will also increase in April 2023:
- Age 23 and over: £10.42 (from £9.50)
- Age 21 and 22: £10.18 (from £9.18)
- Age 18-20: £7.49 (from £6.83)
- Age 16 and 17 : £5.28 (from £4.81)
- Apprentice rate: £5.28 (from £4.81)
COT3 settlement agreements
COT3 settlement agreements, negotiated and arranged by Acas, can be a cheap and easy way to settle employment tribunal claims. The Court of Appeal has considered a case where an employee brought a claim after signing a COT3, the terms of which the employer said prevented him from bringing the claim. There is currently conflicting case law on the ability for settlement agreements to waive future, unknown claims. Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Trust v Howard said that if parties want to settle unknown future claims, the wording of the agreement must be absolutely clear on that. However, in Bathgate v Technip, the Scottish EAT said that the law did not allow parties to settle unknown future claims.
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