A recruitment agency’s employment contracts, which failed to specify the required number of working hours, have been ruled unlawful by the Employment Tribunal. The case was brought by 191 workers. They were employed under different contracts, but their terms and conditions were materially the same. They were guaranteed “”a rate of pay at least equivalent
The law provides wide-ranging protection against disability discrimination but that does not extend employees who’ve been found guilty of stealing. This was illustrated in a recent case involving Mr A Wood, who worked for Durham County Council. Mr Wood was found to have taken some items from Boots the Chemist without paying. He was accused
Uber says it will continue its legal fight against the ruling that its drivers should be classed as workers. It made the statement after the Court of Appeal upheld an Employment Tribunal decision in 2016 that drivers were entitled to workers’ rights including the minimum wage. The tribunal at the original hearing heard that Uber
The Court of Appeal has ruled that British Airways treated a part-time employee unfavourably in comparison to full-time staff. The case involved crew member Florence Pinaud, who claimed her contract required her to be available for proportionately 3.5% more days than a comparable colleague who worked full time. She had to be available for work
The gig economy has suffered another blow with the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that taxi drivers with the company Addison Lee should be classed as workers. Three drivers brought claims asserting an entitlement to holiday pay and to the national minimum wage, which would only exist if they were workers for the purposes of the
An employee with a blood phobia was not subjected to disability discrimination when he was required to escort patients to and from hospital wards. Andrew Brangwyn was an occupational therapy technician with South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust. He had a phobia about blood, injections and needles. In January 2011, he was informed that he had
London Underground has succeeded in legal action to prevent a contract dispute with three major suppliers delaying the delivery of new trains. The issue arose when the company conducted a procurement exercise for the manufacture and supply of 94 new trains and equipment for the Piccadilly Line, with options for the supply of additional trains
Two landlords have won a long-running dispute with their local authority over renting homes in multiple occupation (HMOs) to students. The issue arose after the authority imposed conditions on the HMO licences prohibiting the use of attic bedrooms for sleeping because the roof slope meant they were smaller than what it considered acceptable for a
A bodybuilder who appeared on the television show Gladiators as ‘Warrior’ infringed a company’s trademark when he used that stage name to sell nutritional supplements. The company that took legal action over the infringement, KBF Enterprises Ltd, manufactured sports nutrition products and supplements. From November 2010, it had used several registered marks including the word
The number of businesses becoming insolvent rose by nearly 20% in the year to September. The retail sector was among the worst affected with nearly 400 outlets, including high profile casualties like House of Fraser, having to cease trading over the summer. It’s thought high business rates, uncertainty over Brexit and tensions over international trade