Leslie M. Martin

Oct 4, 2024 | lexology.com | Leslie M. Martin |Mark Hamilton

In a landmark decision, the Employment Tribunal (ET) in Thandi and others v. Next Retail Limited and another found that, by paying its warehouse staff a higher rate of basic pay than shop floor staff, Next was in breach of the equal pay provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (EA), which imply a “sex equality clause” into every contract of employment. Other retailers are involved in large-scale equal pay litigation on similar points, but this appears to be the first to reach a conclusion in the ET.

Aug 14, 2024 | lexology.com | William Azuh |Verity Buckingham |Laura Jackson |Leslie M. Martin |Helena Rozman

As part of our summer 2024 employment trends series, we share our observations on developments in relation to restrictive covenants, both in the UK and further afield. In the UK, we have not seen any new statutory developments on restrictive covenants following the previous government’s response to its consultation on post-termination non-compete clauses.

Aug 14, 2024 | lexology.com | Karen Farrell |Laura Jackson |Leslie M. Martin |Christopher W. Seymour

As part of our summer 2024 employment trends series, we reflect on the developments we have observed in artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace – surely one of 2024’s hottest topics. AI in the workplaceWe have seen clients start to integrate AI into the workplace to increase productivity and automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks to speed up and enhance how we work.

Jul 31, 2024 | lexology.com | Leslie M. Martin

The much-anticipated Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (more commonly known as “fire and rehire”) (the Code) has come into force as of 18 July 2024. As you may remember, we published a blog on the draft version of the Code (Draft Code) (which was published by the Conservative government in February) here. As was the case for the Draft Code, the Code does not seek to prohibit the practice of fire and rehire as a whole.

Nov 7, 2023 | lexology.com | Leslie M. Martin

On 25 October 2023, Acas launched a consultation on its new draft statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for predictable working patterns. This is in expectation of the implementation of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act in autumn 2024. This Act will give certain individuals, such as those on zero hour contracts and agency workers, the right to request more certainty around their working patterns.