Costs in the employment tribunal – a difficult prospect
A recent case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has highlighted the difficulties faced by respondents in getting a costs order against an unsuccessful claimant. The case of HCA International ltd v May-Beheemul [2010] was regarding an employee who resigned and subsequently lodged claims of disability discrimination, constructive unfair dismissal and detriment on the grounds […]
Employee posting offensive remarks on Facebook
The Employment Tribunal has heard another case involving an employee’s use of a social networking websites which resulted in dismissal. The matter of Preece v J D Wetherspoon plc concerned a pub manager working for Wetherspoons at the Ferry Boat Pub in Cheshire. Her contract of employment clearly set out that she could be dismissed […]
Minimum wage increase
The Government has announced that the national minimum wage for adults will increase on 1st October 2011 from £5.93 to £6.08 per hour – an increase of 15p.The increase is 2.5% below the rate of inflation. Vince Cable (the Business Secretary) commented that more than 890,000 of Britain’s lowest-paid workers will gain from these changes, that […]
The future of the GLA – is it under consideration?
There have been recent reports suggesting the possibility of the Employment Agency Standards inspectorate at BIS being merged with the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (“GLA”). It would not appear that there are any firm proposals for this to happen, just an announcement by employment relations minister, Ed Davey, that government is to review workplace rights, compliance […]
When does a notice of dismissal take effect?
If I give an employee three months notice this afternoon, when will it end? Does the notice period include today, the day I give the notice, or does it start tomorrow? The answer may be significant in determining when the employees last day of work is and therefore the period in which they can bring […]
Avoid temptation to over compensate because of pregnancy or child birth
A recent case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has highlighted that employers must take care when using selection criteria in a redundancy exercise, and be particularly conscious not to unfairly favour an employee on maternity leave in comparison to other employees. The case (Eversheds Legal Services Ltd v Belin (2011)) involved a male employee, […]
Is the use of a photo on a CV a help or a hindrance?
The inclusion of a candidate’s photo on a CV is not a practice which is widely used in the UK unless specifically required by a hirer or recruiter. This is different from some other countries where it is normal practice. This begs the questions should we be including photos on CV’s? Are there benefits to […]
Frequently asked questions – holidays
The holiday spirit has been in full swing in recent weeks and here at Lawspeed we have noticed an increase in enquiries about the subject. Therefore, we thought it would be useful to include some general points about holidays in this month’s AgencyZone: How much is the holiday entitlement? From April 2009, the rate increased […]