No diplomatic immunity in modern slavery cases, Supreme Court rules – BBC News

‘The UK Supreme Court has ruled that diplomats cannot hide behind immunity to exploit workers, in a victory for campaigners against modern slavery.’

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BBC News, 7th July 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

New Judgment: Basfar v Wong [2022] UKSC 20 – UKSC Blog

‘The Appellant (a national of the Philippines) is a migrant domestic worker who worked in the household of the Respondent, a diplomat representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the United Kingdom. Ms Wong claims to be a victim of human trafficking who was forced to work for Mr Basfar and his family in circumstances of modern slavery after they brought her with them to the UK in August 2016.’

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UKSC Blog, 6th July 2022

Source: ukscblog.com

Setting up a branch or subsidiary of an overseas business in the UK – EIN Blog

Posted July 4th, 2022 in company law, employment, immigration, news, visas by tracey

‘There is no specific visa requirement for anyone who wants to register a business in the UK. However, this is not the same as working for or on behalf of the business.’

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EIN Blog, 30th June 2022

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Crucifixes, neck-chains and food hygiene: Kovalkovs – Law & Religion UK

‘In Mr J Kovalkovs v 2 Sisters Food Group Limited [2022] UKET 4102454/2020, Mr Kovalkovs, an Orthodox Christian, was a quality inspector in 2 Sisters Food Group’s chicken processing factory. He wore a silver crucifix on a neck-chain as an expression of his faith. 2 Sisters’ Foreign Body Control policy stated that “jewellery must not be worn in the production areas on site, with the exception of a single plan band ring”. An exception was made for religious jewellery, subject to a risk assessment; however, the risk assessment concluded that “because the chain was made of links there was a risk of contamination” and there was a potential for “entanglement, entrapment or tearing”. Mr Kovalkovs refused to give up wearing his crucifix and was dismissed.’

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Law & Religion UK, 21st June 2022

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Windrush: only one in four applicants have received compensation – The Guardian

‘Only one in four applicants to the Windrush compensation scheme have received payments four years after the government promised redress for those wrongly classified by the Home Office as illegal immigrants.’

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The Guardian, 22nd June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Post Office IT scandal victims may be disqualified from compensation scheme – The Guardian

‘Scores of post office operators wrongly accused of embezzlement by the Post Office due to faulty accounting software, may be disqualified from a dedicated compensation scheme.’

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The Guardian, 21st June 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

COVID-19 and return-to-work refusers – Local Government Lawyer

‘Adele Shortman analyses the first significant COVID dismissal case to be heard in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 10th June 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

What does UK law say about sexual harassment in the workplace? – OUP Blog

Posted May 26th, 2022 in employment, equality, harassment, news, vicarious liability by sally

‘An MP watching porn in the House of Commons and inappropriate comments made about the deputy leader of the Labour party’s legs: not even the place where our legislation is made appears to be immune from the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace.’

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OUP Blog, 25th May 2022

Source: blog.oup.com

Ali v Heathrow Express Operating Company Ltd & Anor – Equality Law Blog

‘This decision is a reminder that, where unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic is not intended to offend, intimidate, etc, an objective test applies to the question whether conduct amounts to harassment. The claimant was a Muslim employee of Heathrow Express. He complained of harassment and direct discrimination connected with religion after receiving an email concerning a security test carried out by the second respondent, which was responsible for carrying out security checks at Heathrow Airport and Heathrow Express stations at the airport. The test in question had involved a bag containing a box, some electric cabling and, visible at the top, a piece of paper with the words “Allahu Akbar” written in Arabic. The email reporting on the results of the test and included images of the bag and the note.’

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Equality Law Blog, 24th May 2022

Source: equalitylawblog.com

First EAT consideration of a Covid-19 related dismissal – St Philips Barristers

‘In what is believed to be the first Appellate consideration of a Coronavirus related dismissal the EAT (HHJ Tayler) upheld the judgment of the Leeds Employment Tribunal (EJ Anderson) that the Claimant’s Coronavirus related absence dismissal was not automatically unfair for a health and safety reason pursuant to s100(d)-(e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.’

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St Philips Barristers, 6th May 2022

Source: st-philips.com

How Has the Pandemic Changed the City Workplace? Top 10 Legal Issues in the Post-Pandemic Workplace – Littleton Chambers

‘The last two years have accelerated a number of trends which had already started to gain traction. The most obvious one is the move to remote working.’

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Littleton Chambers, 17th May 2022

Source: littletonchambers.com

Limitation and Retrospective Effect: Abdelsalam v Expresso Telecom Group Ltd – Littleton Chambers

Posted May 18th, 2022 in appeals, chambers articles, employment, limitations, news, time limits by sally

‘James Bickford Smith and James Green review the recent judgment of the Dubai International Financial Centre Court of Appeal in Abdelsalam v Expresso Telecom Group [2021] DIFC CA 011. The decision resolved uncertainty as to whether the 2019 Employment Law could render earlier-issued claims under the 2005 Law out of time, and confirmed the presumption that DIFC law should not have retrospective effect.’

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Littleton Chambers, 11th May 2022

Source: littletonchambers.com

Calling a man ‘bald’ is sexual harassment, employment tribunal rules – The Guardian

‘Calling a man “bald” is sexual harassment, an employment tribunal has ruled. Hair loss is much more prevalent among men than women so using it to describe someone is a form of discrimination, a judge has concluded. Commenting on a man’s baldness in the workplace is equivalent to remarking on the size of a woman’s breasts, the finding suggests.’

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The Guardian, 13th May 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Litigant banned over ‘unjustified’ complaints to regulators – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A former nurse who made “wholly inappropriate and unjustified allegations of wrongdoing” against lawyers has been banned from bringing proceedings for two years by a High Court judge, who said regulators must be “astute in identifying litigants who abusively use [the] regulatory process”.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 6th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘It strips your humanity’: Civil servant wins six-figure sum over ‘insidious’ Ministry of Justice racism – The Independent

‘A former civil servant received a six-figure pay-out from the government over discrimination after she says was subjected to “insidious” racism during a 20-year battle with the Ministry of Justice.’

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The Independent, 8th May 2022

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Acoustic shock claim back on after ‘fundamental error’ – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Court of Appeal has revived an acoustic shock claim after a finding that the defendant’s evidence was incorrect and the judge was considering the wrong issue.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 5th May 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Post Office scandal victims still waiting for compensation – BBC News

‘A year since wrongful convictions of subpostmasters were first overturned, most say they are no closer to agreeing a financial compensation settlement.’

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BBC News, 23rd April 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Harassment in employment?: Ali v Heathrow Express – Law & Religion UK

‘Anis Ali, a Muslim, worked for the Heathrow Express which was at the relevant time run by the first respondent, Heathrow Express Operating Company Ltd. The second respondent, Redline Assured Security Ltd, was responsible for carrying out security checks at the airport and the Heathrow Express stations. The checks involved creating and leaving suspicious objects to test how security officers responded to them, and in August 2017 it carried out a test using a bag containing a box, some electric cable and, visible at the top, a piece of paper with the words “Allahu Akbar” written in Arabic. Subsequently, the Operating Company sent an e-mail reporting on the results of the test and including images of the bag and the note to a group of employees – including Mr Ali.’

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Law & Religion UK, 19th April 2022

Source: lawandreligionuk.com

Going backwards: statutory sick pay after the pandemic – by Dr Lisa Rodgers – UK Labour Law

‘The coronavirus pandemic has seen unprecedented interference by governments in many aspects of our working lives. In terms of labour law, some of the changes made by the UK government during the pandemic have been deregulatory and served to erode protection for workers (for example, through increasing flexibility in working time for key workers: Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020. For the most part though, these changes have increased worker protection and provided significant support for UK businesses and employees. The two furlough schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the accompanying Self-Employment Income Support Scheme have been widely judged as pandemic success stories, with the CJRS supporting 11.6 million people and playing a clear role in limiting job losses. Likewise, changes to the sick pay system during the pandemic have been positive, serving to increase access to the scheme and reduce the administrative burden on both employees and their employers.’

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UK Labour Law, 12th April 2022

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Teacher wins £850k settlement following classroom assault – Local Government Lawyer

‘A teacher who was assaulted by a student has been awarded £850,000 in compensation following a personal injury claim, his union has reported.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 19th April 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk