No, held the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Faithorn Farrell Timms LLP v Bailey, giving the first appellate judgment on protected conversations. Protected conversations are a mechanism whereby employers can enter into discussions concerning the proposed termination of an employee’s employment where there is no existing ‘dispute’ (i.e. that there are no ongoing formal disciplinary/capability issues).…
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…
In Gallop v Newport City Council the Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that an inadvertent disclosure while giving evidence that there had been “without prejudice” negotiations did not waive privilege, and a tribunal should not have taken them into account when assessing an award of compensation. The point came out of an unfair dismissal case…
Can a claimant be found to have failed to mitigate their loss if they refuse an offer of settlement during the course of tribunal proceedings? No says the Employment Appeal Tribunal, unless the refusal is "wholly unreasonable". In Konczak v BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, an employer made a settlement offer of £75,000 which the claimant…
As is well known, communications made “without prejudice” between disputing parties in attempts to achieve an out of court settlement of their dispute are not generally admissible evidence if they fail to reach a settlement and the matter goes to trial. The reason, of course, is that it is important public policy to encourage parties…