Law firm ordered to pay £1,000 for employee’s “racist” comment – Legal Futures

‘A law firm employee has been awarded damages of £1,000 after a colleague targeted him with a discriminatory comment based on his Pakistani heritage.

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Legal Futures, 22nd November 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Consultant solicitor was not an employee, rules employment tribunal – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A former consultant with a Midlands firm has failed to convince a tribunal that he was an employee for the purposes of making a claim.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 18th November 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Solicitor sacked over order to move offices wins tribunal claim – Legal Futures

‘A solicitor has won her claim for wrongful dismissal after being sacked by a law firm for pushing back against a direction to relocate with immediate effect to another office.’

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Legal Futures, 9th November 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

‘Females with fair skin’: Mayfair casino guilty of race discrimination, tribunal finds – The Guardian

Posted November 3rd, 2021 in employment, employment tribunals, equality, gambling, news, race discrimination by sally

‘An exclusive London casino racially discriminated against one of its dealers by allowing a request by a patron not to have black dealers at their table, an employment tribunal has found.’

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The Guardian, 2nd November 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Controlling Noise at Work: New HSE Guidance on Regulations – Ropewalk Chambers

Posted November 2nd, 2021 in employment, health & safety, news, noise, regulations by sally

‘The first edition of Controlling Noise at Work was published in 1998, and was founded on the earlier Noise at Work Regulations 1989. It was comprehensively revised in 2005 in advance of the enactment of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 from 6 April 2006. Minor amendments to the Regulations, and the passage of time, have generated the need for a third edition, which offers an opportunity to reconsider the Guidance itself, which contains a plethora of detail beyond the Regulations, and fertile material for cross-examination and submissions at trial.’

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Ropewalk Chambers, 2nd November 2021

Source: www.ropewalk.co.uk

New Judgment: Kostal UK Ltd v Dunkley and others [2021] UKSC 47 – UKSC Blog

‘The Appellant and 56 others are all members of the trade union “Unite” and are employed by the Respondent. They began formal annual pay negotiations and the Respondent made a pay offer. Union members were balloted and rejected the offer. The Respondent then made the same offer to its employees directly, bypassing Unite, also saying that if no agreement was reached “this may lead to the company serving notice on your contract of employment”.’

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UKSC Blog, 27th October 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Do Employers Discriminate Against People Without Degrees? – Each Other

Posted October 25th, 2021 in education, employment, equality, human rights, news, statistics, universities by tracey

‘In 1999, then Prime Minister Tony Blair pledged that by 2010 half of all under-30s should go on to university, with the aim, in part, of bettering their chances of securing rewarding and well-paid jobs. The target was first met in 2017/2018 and now nearly 60% of sixth form leavers progress on to a degree course. However, in the age of the pandemic, is university really the best route into employment from both a practical and human rights perspective?’

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Each Other, 22nd October 2021

Source: eachother.org.uk

Menopausal symptoms and disability – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Employment Appeal Tribunal has given its first ruling on menopausal symptoms and disability in a case involving a city council. Jog Hundle considers the judgment.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Should the right to justice override the principle of transparency? – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted October 25th, 2021 in anonymity, employment, employment tribunals, internet, news, reporting restrictions by tracey

‘Occasionally, a claimant at the employment tribunal will contact the Gazette in distress, after seeing reports of their case apparently plastered all over the internet. Many seem unaware of – and certainly unprepared for – the implications of open justice in the digital age.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 25th October 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Automated Dismissal Decisions, Data Protection and The Law of Unfair Dismissal – by Philippa Collins – UK Labour Law

‘In Summer 2021, Bloomberg published a striking series of stories from working people who had been ‘fired by a machine’. Stephen Normandin had worked for several years for Amazon Flex as a member of a fleet of ‘contract drivers’ who provide same-day delivery services for groceries and packages. Like other members of Amazon’s significant workforce, Stephen’s work was monitored through a system of real-time data collection and algorithmic analysis. Stephen’s performance rating plummeted after a series of unfortunate incidents made his job more difficult: inaccessible gated communities and lockers, unresponsive recipients and unhelpful responses from the company. Shortly after, he received an email stating that his contract had been terminated. Stephen took up the opportunity to appeal the decision but received a series of emails, each with a different name attached, that took him no further. The final email that Stephen received stated that the difficulties he had cited had already been taken into account. His termination stood, even though he was never able to interact ‘live’ with another human being.’

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UK Labour Law, 19th October 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

‘Right to request’ flexible work not granted for half of UK’s working mothers – The Guardian

Posted October 15th, 2021 in employment, equality, families, flexible working, news, sex discrimination, statistics, women by tracey

‘Half of the UK’s working mothers do not get the flexibility they ask for, while those that do work flexibly face discrimination, according to a survey.’

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The Guardian, 15th October 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Amazon drivers look to sue for compensation over rights – BBC News

‘A law firm is seeking to launch a group action against Amazon over employee rights for delivery drivers.’

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BBC News, 13th October 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Capability and conduct dismissals – Local Government Lawyer

‘Can the Employment Tribunal “go behind” a final written warning? Madeleine Shields reports on a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 8th October 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Students used by law firm for agency advocacy are ‘workers’ – Legal Futures

‘A Bar student who handled agency advocacy work through a law firm was a worker with certain rights and not self-employed, an employment tribunal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 8th October 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Calls for employment law change as parents routinely forced to use holiday leave to look after sick children – The Independent

Posted October 8th, 2021 in children, employment, families, holidays, news, sick leave by tracey

‘Parents are being forced to use holiday leave to look after their children when they get sick, a new study has found.’

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The Independent, 7th October 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office resisting calls to let asylum seekers work in the UK – The Guardian

Posted October 1st, 2021 in asylum, employment, government departments, immigration, news, statistics by tracey

‘Priti Patel’s department is resisting growing demands to allow asylum seekers to work following a public intervention from her cabinet colleague Dominic Raab to say that he would be “open-minded’ about the proposal.’

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The Guardian, 30th September 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

More NHS maternity units criticised for poor cultures, bullying and staff shortages – The Independent

Posted October 1st, 2021 in birth, bullying, employment, hospitals, midwives, news, ombudsmen, pregnancy by tracey

‘Two more NHS maternity units have been criticised by the care watchdog over concerns about safety, with inspectors highlighting poor cultures and bullying as well as staff shortages leaving midwives visibly upset.’

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The Independent, 1st October 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

To jab or not to jab? Covid vaccination dilemmas – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The main challenges to compulsory vaccination policies come from unfair dismissal and discrimination law. Unfair dismissal claims are available to employees with two years’ service. Claims would hinge upon the issue of whether an employee’s refusal to comply with a vaccination policy is a ‘substantial reason’ sufficient to justify their dismissal.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th September 2021

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Bringing it all back home: TUPE reform after Brexit – by Charles Wynn-Evans – UK Labour Law

Posted September 24th, 2021 in brexit, EC law, employment, interpretation, news, transfer of undertakings by sally

‘Despite the concerns expressed by many commentators ahead of Brexit about the possibility of significant deregulatory reform of employment protection legislation once the United Kingdom left the EU, precious little has been heard subsequently in this regard in terms of specific proposals other than a brief flurry of speculation earlier this year about potential reform of working time, rest break and holiday entitlement provisions. This culminated in the Government’s confirmation that a review of workers’ rights would not be proceeding and its statement, in explaining the failure to include the promised Employment Bill in the most recent Queen’s Speech, that it is “unequivocal in its commitment to protect and enhance workers’ rights as we build back better from the pandemic….”’

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UK Labour Law, 22nd September 2021

Source: uklabourlawblog.com

Clerks “must play bigger role in fair work allocation” – Legal Futures

Posted September 24th, 2021 in barristers, barristers' clerks, diversity, employment, equality, news by sally

‘Barristers’ clerks must step up and ensure that both work coming in and marketing efforts by chambers are done with an eye to equality in the way they are distributed, a seminar heard this week.’

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Legal Futures, 24th September 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk