A Court of Appeal ruling that a 10% uplift should be applied to general damages awards in civil claims for pain and suffering does not apply to employment tribunals. That was the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in a recent discrimination case. The hearing involved a woman who claimed that her employer had
A company has succeeded in getting a court injunction to prevent one of its former directors from poaching its staff and customers, and using its confidential information. The case involved a director who had begun working for the company in 2008 and was given a number of shares. In 2012, a new Directors’ Service Agreement
Employers needing to lay off staff could be spared time and expense following new guidance about collective redundancies from one of Europe’s top law officials. The law relating to collective redundancies applies when an employer wishes to lay off 20 or more workers within a 90-day period. In those circumstances, the employer has to consult
A surgeon who was sacked after allegedly making racist remarks has failed to get an injunction preventing his employer going ahead with the dismissal. The case involved a consultant general surgeon who attended a meeting with a number of other doctors. After some of those doctors had left, he allegedly made remarks about them that
A government minister says it’s scandalous that so many rogue employers are getting away with not paying tribunal awards on time. Business Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe warned firms that they could soon face penalties if they continue to delay compensation payments to employees. New enforcement measures are being introduced as part of the Small Business, Enterprise
Shared parental leave comes into effect in April, giving families more flexibility than ever before. Under the scheme, working couples will be able to share untaken maternity leave and pay, following the first 2 weeks’ recovery period that mothers have to take off after birth. It means that up to 50 weeks leave and 37
Leeds United Football Club has won a legal dispute involving an employee who was first selected for redundancy but then summarily dismissed after it was discovered that he had sent out obscene emails several years earlier. The case concerned the club’s former technical director Evan Williams. Mr Williams was made redundant in July 2013. A
An obese employee has won a disability harassment claim after being taunted about his weight by a work colleague. It’s the first case of its kind in the UK since the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled last year that obesity could be considered as a disability in certain circumstances. This latest
The disabled are given wide ranging protection in the workplace under the Equality Act 2010. Employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to cater for disabled employees and disabled job applicants. This raises the question of what constitutes a reasonable adjustment. A recent case before the Employment Appeal Tribunal provided some useful guidance. It involved
A management consultancy company has been granted an interim injunction to prevent its staff being poached by a rival agency. The issue arose after two of the company’s staff resigned to join another agency operating in the same line of business. While they were working their notice period, the company discovered that they were providing