Ahead of the implementation of the new regime for settlement agreements, the Acas Code of Practice has been published in its final form. This is a statutory code of practice, not just guidance. That means that when considering matters such as procedure and fairness, a tribunal can take into account whether the provisions of the…
Late June saw the introduction of some significant changes to the whistleblowing provisions set out in the Public Interest Disclosure Act. However, before considering the changes I think that it is worthwhile taking a little time to consider just what whistleblowing is in the context of UK employment law. In its simplest sense whistleblowing is…
When USDAW originally took the liquidators of Woolworths to Court over the failure to consult employees before shutting down all its shops in 2008, workers in smaller branches were excluded from the award of 60 days’ pay for each employee. The reasoning behind this was that the obligation to consult on a collective basis only…
There are many cases concerning the alleged infringement of employers’ proprietary information, particularly following the termination of an employee’s employment. The classic counterpoint is between the protection of confidential information to which an employee has had access in the course of employment and need to avoid interference in commerce by restraint of trade unless protection…
If you are an urban dweller in the UK, according to research carried out for The Times, you should expect to be photographed as many as 300 times a day. Combine that with the numerous profiles maintained by advertisers and others based on your internet browsing behaviour and goodness knows what information held by the…
On Monday 29 July, new employment tribunal rules came into force, and the new tribunal fees regime is now upon us. The rules have universally been greeted as a model of clarity, which just goes to show what can be done when you get your drafting done by experts who have a deep understanding of…
You might think that Contract Bottling Ltd v Cave is just an example of the phenomenon of "bumping", and is based on somewhat unusual facts which are unlikely to be replicated, but it is noteworthy as an illustration of how not to go about selecting employees for redundancy. When a new owner rescued Contract Bottling…
In April I reported on the first of two appeals by Ms A A Vaughan, which related to the admissibility of covert recordings in Tribunal proceedings. Following the dismissal of all her claims Ms Vaughan brought a second appeal, this time against a costs order of between £60,000 to £87,000 (depending on how the cost…