Newspaper coverage of the Court of Appeal’s ruling on 27 May in the Sharon Shoesmith case is sensationalist to say the least. The position is misrepresented by headlines such as “Sharon Shoesmith, who was vilified after the death of the toddler Baby P, won her appeal yesterday that she was ‘unfairly and unlawfully’ sacked” (the…
Cases concerning the when and how of employee use of social networking sites (such as Twitter and Facebook) are now beginning to reach the employment tribunals. No new legal principles are involved in deciding when and whether it is appropriate for an employer to discipline or even dismiss an employee for inappropriate use of these…
Most employers know that there is no general legal requirement to give a reference for an ex-employee. Most also know that if they do give one, they may face problems if it is misleading or wrong and the ex-employee cannot get another job as a result. The High Court has recently taken this further. It…
In February we reported that at the end of January the Government published a consultation paper designed to "improve the way in which workplace disputes are resolved" (the consultation period ended on 20 April). Proposals for a more active role for ACAS in trying to settle claims before they get to a tribunal have been…
The Government issued its BIS "Modern Workplaces Consultation" on 16 May 2011 . One of the topics covered is "Equal Pay". Consultation closes on 8 August 2011. The introduction to this section of the consultation document says: We aim to ensure that employers who have breached the law on equal pay take appropriate action to…
The Government issued its BIS "Modern Workplaces Consultation" on 16 May 2011 . One of the topics covered is "Working Time Regulations". Consultation closes on 8 August 2011. The introduction to this part of the consultation explains that the proposals "concern the interaction of annual leave with sick, maternity, adoption, parental, and paternity leave". Changes…
The Government issued its BIS "Modern Workplaces Consultation" on 16 May 2011. One of the topics covered is "Flexible Working". Consultation closes on 8 August 2011. The paper gives examples (with explanations) of "flexible work" as follows: part-time; flexi-time; compressed hours; homeworking; annualised hours; term-time working; structured time off in lieu; job-sharing; and varied-hours working…
The Government issued its BIS "Modern Workplaces Consultation" on 16 May 2011 . One of the topics covered is "Flexible Parental Leave". Consultation closes on 8 August 2011. In bare outline, the main elements in the “flexible parental leave” part of the proposals are : Initial leave rights (around the birth/adoption of a child): Maternity…