-
Jan 24, 2025 | 
herbertsmithfreehills.com | Anna Henderson
The Government has confirmed that it intends to bring the new neonatal care leave and pay rights into force on 6 April 2025. Draft regulations have now been published for parliamentary approval, setting out the detail of the new rights under the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 (covered in our blog post here).
-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
herbertsmithfreehills.com | Anna Henderson
A recent EAT ruling serves as a reminder that an employee can unlawfully harass a colleague relating to their protected characteristic even if the characteristic was not part of their motivation and they did not appreciate the connection or that there was any offensive connotation.
-
Jan 15, 2025 | 
herbertsmithfreehills.com | Anna Henderson
Two recent Court of Appeal decisions highlight the risk of employers facing tribunal claims from rejected job applicants long after the usual three month time limit has expired. Tribunals have a discretion to extend time where this is just and equitable, for example where on the expiry of the primary time limit the claimant remained unaware of important facts material to the viability of their claim.
-
Oct 22, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Anna Henderson
Following publication of the Employment Rights Bill, the Government has wasted no time in progressing its plans. On 18 October it published ten factsheets (here) summarising key provisions of the Bill and confirming some additional areas of consultation; yesterday it launched four of the early consultations signposted (here). These will inform possible amendments to the Bill as it progresses through Parliament.
-
Jul 17, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Anna Henderson
In Clifford v IBM United Kingdom Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has applied the Scottish Court of Session's ruling in Bathgate (see here) to an English case, confirming that future claims can be validly compromised despite the facts giving rise to the claim not having occurred at the time the agreement is signed.
-
Jun 17, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Anna Henderson
Employers deciding whether to instigate a disciplinary process after an investigation, or determining the level of disciplinary sanction, should consider carefully whether their reasons for taking these steps could have been influenced by behaviour during the process which is connected with the employee's disability. For example, certain mental impairments such as anxiety or depression could mean that an employee behaves more defensively or evasively in interviews.
-
Jun 17, 2024 | 
lexology.com | Anna Henderson
The Court of Appeal has ruled in Boohene v Royal Parks Ltd that the Equality Act does not permit a discrimination claim against a business (the 'principal') by individuals employed by a contractor to the principal in relation to their pay being lower than that of the principal's own employees. In this case, the principal RPL paid its own employees the London Living Wage but did not require its contractors, to whom it had outsourced various functions, to do so in respect of their staff.
-
Apr 15, 2024 | 
mondaq.com | Christine Young |Anna Henderson
It is estimated that 55% of the UK workforce is planning on
requesting flexible working hours once some significant changes to Employment Law,
including to the flexible work request regime, come into effect
from Saturday 6 April. Employers need to be aware of these
changes, which extend to family leave rights, redundancy
protection, tribunal compensation award limits, minimum wage and
pay for statutory leave, and update staff policies and handbooks
accordingly.
-
Apr 9, 2024 | 
mondaq.com | Nick Wright |Anna Henderson
The basics of redundancy processes in the UK have been unchanged
for some time, so the forthcoming changes from 6 April could be a
trap for the unwary, if usually confident managers are not
careful.
In this Espresso Pod, Employment Partner, Nick Wright, and
Professional Support Consultant, Anna Henderson, discuss what the
upcoming changes mean in practice.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter.
-
Apr 5, 2024 | 
mondaq.com | Anna Henderson
This April sees a raft of employment law changes coming into
force, requiring employers to update staff policies and ensure that
managers are briefed. Below is a quick checklist, along with links
to our earlier more detailed posts. Please do get in touch with
your usual HSF contact if you would like further information or
assistance with updating policies.
Regulations were made earlier in the year making the right to
request flexible working a day one right from 6
April 2024.
