An unfair dismissal compensatory award may be reduced for contributory conduct by the employee even if it could be said that, if the employer had acted fairly, a dismissal would not have occurred, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). Wilkinson v Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency What are the practical implications of this judgment?… >>
High Court halts deployment of ‘Fire and Rehire’ intended to change terms of employment The High Court in Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) and others v Tesco Stores Ltd granted an injunction on 3 February 2022 preventing Tesco, from deploying ‘fire and rehire’ to phase out an employee benefit. Although the facts… >>
A claim for a quantum meruit payment (i.e., as much as is deserved) cannot be brought as a claim of unlawful deductions from wages under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). Abellio East Midlands Ltd v Thomas [2022] EAT 20, (EA-2020-000935-OO) What are the practical implications… >>
In Allette v Scarsdale Grange Nursing Home Ltd, the employment tribunal had to consider whether an employer had acted unfairly in dismissing an employee for refusing to be vaccinated against coronavirus (COVID-19). Allette v Scarsdale Grange Nursing Home Ltd (Case No: 1803699/2021) Facts Ms Allette worked as a care assistant at a nursing home providing… >>
Will some staffing platforms cease to be commercially viable, and will traditional contractor and consultancy arrangements in the EU be affected? Many would agree that low-paid workers operating regularly via apps and digital labour platforms and working under some degree of control should have basic employment rights (to the extent they do not under existing… >>
In the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 the average waiting time, from receipt of a claim to the first hearing in an employment tribunal, was 335 days for single claims and 388 days for multiple claims. This is the most recent available data because the employment tribunals have moved to a… >>
In order for a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) about an interference with a person’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to be admissible, the complainant must have first invoked those rights expressly (or in substance) in domestic proceedings. In the discrimination case brought by Gareth Lee against… >>
In Preen v (1) Coolink, (2) Mullins, an employment tribunal had to decide if an employee had been automatically unfairly dismissed for raising safety concerns during a WhatsApp exchange with his manager shortly after the Prime Minister (PM), Boris Johnson, announced the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020. Facts Mr Preen was an air… >>
The test for whether a dismissal for conduct reasons is unfair under section 98(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), involves a consideration of all the circumstances, one of which might include, in some cases, the fact that the conduct relied upon involved a breach of contract amounting to gross misconduct. However, not… >>