In Carmelli Bakeries Ltd v Benali the Employment Appeal Tribunal considered a case where a baker, Mr Benali, claimed unfair dismissal and victimisation when he was dismissed for using non-kosher jam in his work for a kosher bakery – which was gross misconduct. Mr Benali had worked for the bakery since 2004 and had an…
This summer has seen some radical changes in the field of employment law, notably the introduction of fees in employment tribunals on 29 July, alongside new Employment Tribunal forms and rules, a new cap on unfair dismissal compensation and the new “shareholder-employee” provisions came into force on 1 September. Time will tell how these changes…
It is well known by nearly all employers that their employees have a right to be accompanied at any disciplinary or grievance meeting that they are required to attend, if they reasonably request a companion. However, it still surprises me how often we encounter employers who ignore this and pretty much all other employment rights.…
As aficionados of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) will tell you, it’s rare that the full judgement of the court does not follow the opinion of the Advocate General, but Mark Alemo-Herron and Others v Parkwood Leisure Ltd is just such a case. The icing on the cake is that the court held that…
One of the more surprising political stories to emerge this month was Allegra Stratton’s BBC report that the Conservatives are considering ways in which to raise the National Minimum Wage. Apparently the intention is to strike a balance between increasing people’s earning power while avoiding a negative impact on the number of people in employment.…
Newbury v Sun Microsystems provides a salutary tale for those who are at all unclear in their approach to finalising terms for settlement. Mr Malcolm Newbury issued a claim against his employer for contractual commission for the year to June 2009 in the sum of $2,028,760. The employer, Sun Microsystems, counterclaimed in respect of an…
Francis v Pertemps Recruitment Partnership Ltd concerns the dividing line between dismissal and termination of a contract by mutual consent. Mr Francis was a temp in the fortunate position of having a contract of employment with an agency – who supplied him to Transco to do administrative work. When the successors to Transco’s business, SGN,…
It is normally the correct approach when dealing with employment law matters not to take into account factors which have arisen “after the event”. For example, evidence of misconduct which only comes to light after someone has been dismissed for misconduct can have played no part in the deliberations of the individual or individuals who…
In Fox v British Airways Plc the Court of Appeal has addressed two tricky questions arising from the death of an employee shortly after the termination of his employment. Can a tribunal award compensation for a benefit which was payable in the event of an employee’s death and can the claim be made on behalf…