News: Mother loses dead son’s disability discrimination case against Amazon

A mother has lost the disability discrimination case lodged against Amazon in a bid to fulfil the wish of her dying son, a former employee of the online retailer. David Peregrine, who was only 36, launched his suit against the shopping web site after being sent home without pay from its Swansea, South Wales-based distribution […]

How to accommodate disabled workers in a post-Remploy world

It isn’t often that workplace disability rights make national headlines.  But following recent news that 27 Remploy factories – including five dedicated to employing disabled people – will be shut, that has certainly been the case.   Disability activists and employment specialists have been publicly rethinking what equal access to work means and how society […]

News: Asian postman gets £100,000 payout for exposing racism

A postman has received a £100,000 payout after blowing the whistle on “endemic racism” at his workplace, which resulted in him and other Asian colleagues being branded as “cockroaches” and “vermin”. Abdul Musa, who was supported in his claim by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, worked at the Royal Mail‘s Canterbury Street sorting office […]

Blog: More cost for employers – Sick workers and annual leave

Workers’ entitlement to holiday pay whilst off sick continues to prove problematic for businesses. In a decision just issued by the Court of Appeal, NHS Leeds v Janet Larner, the Court has confirmed that workers are entitled to annual leave which accrues while they are off sick, even where they have not made any request […]

News: Racial victimisation ruling for black footballer to be contested

Gillingham Football Club intends to contest an employment tribunal ruling that found it guilty of racial victimisation and unfair dismissal against sacked striker, Mark McCammon. The former Barbados international player made UK legal history yesterday by becoming the first black footballer to successfully bring such a claim against a professional football club.   He took […]

News: “Unemployable” Robin Hood airport tweeter finds a job

A former trainee accountant who described himself as "unemployable" following his conviction for sending a menancing tweet to Robin Hood Airport during the blizzards of January 2010 has finally got a new job. Paul Chambers, who celebrated on steps of the High Court last Friday after the conviction was overturned, told his Twitter followers on […]

News: Blacklisted construction workers lodge claim against Sir Robert McAlpine

The campaign by blacklisted construction workers has stepped up a gear, after a High Court claim was lodged against Sir Robert McAlpine which has been branded the worst offender. The legal action follows an official complaint lodged earlier this month with the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development by the Blacklist Support Group against five […]

Ask the Expert: What to do with someone whose role has mostly been offshored?

The question We are a company with five permanent staff. One role has ‘lost’ much of its workload after the work was moved offshore. The person fulfilling that role is now left trying to find enough things to do much of the time. What are my options here?   Can I legally redefine the role […]

How to administer pay cuts in times of austerity

Last week, Reuters reported that the Spanish royal family, surrounded by high unemployment and scenes of public workers striking, had offered to take a pay cut. The move is intended to reduce the €8.3 million annual cost to Spanish taxpayers of keeping them by some €100,000.   Leading the way is the Spanish King, Juan […]

Analysis: Holiday pay for long-term sick ruling could prove “costly”

A landmark case over holiday pay for the long-term sick could not only prove costly for employers but also raises as many questions as it answers, according to legal experts.   Yesterday, the Court of Appeal ruled that Janet Larner, a part-time clerical worker at NHS Leeds, was entitled to paid leave for the financial […]

News: Border Agency strike on eve of Games called off

Industrial action by Border Agency staff has been called off at the eleventh hour following union claims that the Home Office now intends to create 1,100 new jobs. The move came only an hour before the government was due to launch a high court challenge against a planned one-day strike by members of the Public […]

News: HMRC to probe recruitment industry’s £390m tax avoidance scheme

HM Revenue & Customs is to crack down on UK recruitment industry practices following allegations that hundreds of agencies across the country are running multi-million pound tax avoidance schemes. The organisation plans to launch an investigation into claims that agencies are using “travel and subsistence” expenses systems for temporary staff, which are believed to both […]

Legal Insight: The protected conversation issue

The government is currently looking at ways to try and make life easier for UK employers.  It has doubled the service qualification for protection against unfair dismissal to two years and is either consulting on other possible legal changes or is pushing them through the legislative process.   One initiative that looks likely to hit […]

Ask the Expert: Can we recruit a leader if a team member is off sick?

The question Is it okay to recruit for a team leader from within a team if a member of the team is off sick? They are not on long-term sick leave, just recovering from an operation. What is the legal position here?     Legal verdict   Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar   As […]

News: Police forces consider canning G4S shared services deal

Three UK police forces are reportedly evaluating whether to drop joint plans to outsource 1,100 back office jobs to G4S following its Olympic security staffing debacle. According to the Guardian, the chief constables of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire police met yesterday and agreed to rethink the move.   It was stated only last month that […]

Blog: Seven reasons why the FA should try John Terry

Despite the acquittal of Chelsea and England defender, John Terry, for racism by Westminster Magistrates’ Court, there are seven reasons why the Football Association must try him for his comments against Queens Park Rangers player, Anton Ferdinand: 1. What the magistrate actually said to Terry   John Terry was acquitted of the criminal charges because […]

Blog: How family-friendly is your organisation?

Any organisation with more than a few employees will have staff that are having children.  It’s a big deal, not only for them, but for the employer too.   Even though this is the case, many organisations provide little in the way of learning support for these staff. Interestingly those employers that do assist their […]

Retention matters: How to support adoptive parents

The Prime Minister set out plans to create a “fairer and faster” adoption process recently in a bid to help more people adopt. But because the aim is to introduce the changes “as soon as possible,” employers must to be ready to deal with a potential rise in the number of adoptive parents wanting to […]

News: Yahoo appoints pregnant CEO

Female chief executives are still lamentably rare, female chief executives in the hi-tech computer industry even more so.  Female chief executives who are pregnant when appointed are hitherto unknown, however.   But, refreshingly, search engine company Yahoo has broken the mould by appointing Marissa Mayer as its latest CEO knowing full well that she’s six month’s pregnant.   Mayer […]

Ask the Expert: Can a pregnant worker sue for unfair dismissal after 4 month’s employment?

The question An employee has been sacked who is four-and-a-half months pregnant. She had no formal warnings and there were no sanctions on her record. She was also out of her probationary period, which ended three-and-a-half weeks earlier.   Her manager was informed of her pregnancy only five days before she was dismissed. No legitimate […]