One of the reasons many of our clients seek to engage consultants rather than employee staff is that they believe that it is easier to terminate the relationship without repercussions. After all, consultants are, at best, workers and therefore do not have the statutory right to claim unfair dismissal. Surely the right to terminate is […]

In this post we refer to the 2018 case of: Mrs M Linsley v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom: UKEAT/0150/18/JOJ, 7 December 2018 Mrs Linsley, who worked for HMRC, suffered from ulcerative colitis; a condition which is exacerbated by stress and which requires her to have easy access to toilet facilities. HMRC had […]

Section 15 Equality Act 2010 states: A person (A) discriminates against a disabled person (B) if— (a) A treats B unfavourably because of something arising in consequence of B’s disability, and (b) A cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. (2 )Subsection (1) does not apply if A […]

In the June 2018 EAT case of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust v Levy, a tribunal’s decision as to whether or not Ms Levy had been dismissed by her employer was upheld. The facts of the case were that Ms Levy, anticipating that she would be changing jobs internally with the employer, gave […]

In 2015 we asked a number of women what their biggest concerns were about their rights when pregnant, during maternity leave and upon their return. We felt that answering their questions would also be helpful for employers and wrote an article about it. Three years later, women can now take maternity leave and shared parental […]

Whilst the law very clearly and unequivocally protects women who are pregnant or on maternity leave from discrimination, it doesn’t appear to deter many employers/potential employers/recruiters from discriminating in any event. For this reason, most pregnant women feel anxious about disclosing their pregnancies, particularly when applying for employment or when they know that redundancies are in […]

What’s new in employment law for 2018? Below are some key dates for your diary. The most notable change is the one related to termination payments. It will no longer be possible to make tax free payments for any element of what would have been the employee’s notice period, whether or not you have a […]

Restrictive Covenants – Quick Guide Many employers seek to protect their business connections and confidential information by requiring their employees to enter into restrictive covenants which aim to limit what work can be done by that employee for a period of time once his or her employment with this employer has come to an end. […]

Imputed knowledge – different for direct discrimination and victimisation? A few months ago I wrote about the case of Gallop v Newport City Council. This case considered whether a disabled individual can claim that he has suffered less favourable treatment “because of” his disability where the decision maker (as opposed to the employer) had no […]

Employer Defeated in Tripple Whammy – Fidessa Plc v Lancaster In the January 2017 case of Fidessa Plc v Lancaster, Fidessa lost its appeal against findings of unfair dismissal, indirect sex discrimination and breach of the Part Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (“PTW Regulations”) in favour of Ms Lancaster. The facts […]