The level of compensation a victim receives for hurt feelings in employment disputes is to be raised by 10%. Earlier in the year, the Court of Appeal decided that there should be a 10% rise in the monetary value placed on a victim’s hurt feelings in civil cases. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has now confirmed
Business secretary Vince Cable has launched a wide ranging employment review which could potentially benefit up to a million British workers. Many people on zero-hours contracts are on ‘worker’ employment contracts, as opposed to ‘employee’ contracts. That means they have fewer basic rights, such as maternity pay, the right to request flexible working hours or
Expectant fathers now have the right to take unpaid time off work to attend two ante-natal classes with their partners. The entitlement, which came into effect on 1 October, applies to all expectant partners including husbands, spouses, civil partners and anyone in a long-term relationship with the mother. Expectant fathers who are not in a
A college has successfully obtained an injunction to prevent its employees carrying out a planned strike. The employees and the college were in dispute over pay rates throughout 2013. The trade union had balloted its members in December 2013 to gauge the level of support for a strike. The members voted in favour, and a
An estate agent was awarded too much compensation after being constructively dismissed, an appeal judge has ruled. The agent had worked for a firm as an area manager. He had a remuneration package that was linked to the profitability of his office. The company moved him from a successful office to one that was making
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Were you aware that employees with Breast Cancer and other Cancers have protection from disability discrimination from day 1 of their diagnosis even when their condition is in remission? You may be an employee working through your Cancer. You may be the employer trying to support your employee in
Employers who lose an equal pay claim could now be subject to an equal pay audit on their entire workforce. The update to the Equality Act came into force on 1 October and means that tribunals are obliged to order the audits on any employers who lose an equal pay claim. There are a few
A company has been granted an injunction to prevent a former employee from going to work for one of its competitors for 12 months. The employee had worked for the company for a number of years but became unhappy when he was given a new role. However, he continued to work there while he looked
A woman has won her case of constructive dismissal after her employers approached her son about her faltering performance rather than speak to her directly. The woman worked for an accountancy firm. She was a competent member of staff and received a positive performance review. However, months later she didn’t receive a pay rise as
A ruling on a dispute between a sales agent and British Gas could have set a costly precedent for UK employers. The agent was paid for securing sales. His income was made up of about 40% basic salary and 60% commission. He only received holiday pay equal to his basic wage. He claimed that because