‘A refuse collector has lost his claim for disability discrimination against Bristol Waste, a wholly-owned operation of Bristol City Council.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th February 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Two million low-paid workers may for the first time be entitled to statutory sick pay under proposals that the government hopes will also encourage more people with disabilities and long-term conditions back into work.’
The Guardian, 15th July 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Supermarket giant Morrisons is facing legal action by women who work in its stores and warehouses.’
BBC News, 14th February 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Jess Varnish, the former Great Britain track cyclist, has lost her landmark employment case against British Cycling and UK Sport which had threatened to overhaul funding for Olympic athletes.’
The Guardian, 16th January 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The delivery company DPD is being sued over the death of a driver who collapsed after he missed hospital appointments because he feared the company’s practice of charging drivers £150 for missing work.’
The Guardian, 13th September 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Supreme Court judgment in the Pimlico Plumbers case has been hailed as a victory for workers in the gig economy – and a blow for organisations that rely on large numbers of ‘self-employed’ contractors. In fact, the judgment largely confirms what we already knew – that employment status must be considered on the individual facts of each case and what happens on the ground is more important than the wording of the contract.’
Law Society's Gazette, 25th June 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Drivers delivering goods for Amazon are to fight for better employment rights, including sick pay, holiday pay and the national minimum wage.’
The Guardian, 4th June 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Uber is to provide additional protection for its drivers and couriers across Europe, including 70,000 in the UK, with limited insurance against sickness and injury as well as small maternity and paternity payments.’
The Guardian, 23rd May 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The delivery company Hermes faces a legal battle with a group of its own drivers today, in the latest case promising to have major ramifications on labour rights in the growing gig economy.’
The Guardian, 30th April 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A midwife who was sacked for taking too many sick days after she fell ill because of a lack of toilets at work has won an employment tribunal.’
The Independent, 14th April 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Statutory sick pay and social protections for jobless and self-employed people in the UK are in breach of legal obligations under European law, the Council of Europe has found.’
The Independent, 24th January 2018
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘Sick leave and paid holidays will be extended to temporary workers in the “gig economy” under plans unveiled in a landmark review commissioned by Theresa May.’
Daily Telegraph, 9th July 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Uber has been granted the right to appeal against last year’s landmark ruling that its UK minicab drivers should be treated as employed workers with rights to the minimum wage and sick pay.’
The Guardian, 19th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Sparks and others v Department for Transport [2016] EWCA Civ 360
‘A provision in the employer’s staff handbook stated that where in any 12 month period the employee had taken a number of short term absences which together exceeded 21 working days, the employee’s line manager would discuss his attendance record with him, and only if those “trigger points” had been exceeded and the line manager had consequently acknowledged that there was a problem with the employee’s attendance would the line manager take the matter forward in accordance with the relevant attendance procedures. The handbook provided that all it provisions which applied to the particular employee and were apt for incorporation should be incorporated into the employee’s contract of employment. The provision in question was in a part of the handbook on ill health, which contained the following introductory words: “This chapter sets out your terms and conditions of employment relating to sick leave … [and] the management of poor attendance….” Seven employees, all of whom were employed by different agencies within the same government department and were subject to somewhat different but materially similar provisions, brought claims contending that those provisions were terms of the contracts of employment between them and their employer. The employer maintained that the provisions were not legally enforceable contractual terms but mere notes of guidance or good practice of no legal force. The provision in respect of cumulative short-term absences in the first employee’s documents was taken to determine the question between the employer and all the employees. The judge held that the provisions were terms of the employees’ contracts of employment, and made declarations to that effect. As a result the judge declared that a new policy of attendance management introduced by the employer in July 2012 had not been effective to vary the contractual terms of the employment contracts and was not contractually binding on the employees.’
WLR Daily, 14th April 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘Is an employer ever required to dis-apply an absence management policy or delay dismissal, as a reasonable adjustment for disability? Recent decisions have suggested that the answer is no, but in Griffiths v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] IRLR 216, the Court of Appeal has redefined the correct comparator in a disability claim in a way which may make this easier for an employee to argue.’
Tanfield Chambers, 9th March 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘The job of a telecoms engineer on long-term sick leave with little prospect of returning to work did not transfer to a new employer as he was not “assigned” to the team when the team he worked as a part of was transferred to another service provider, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed.’
OUT-LAW.com, 7th September 2015
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Ian Smith reports on basic & immutable problems of employment law that require complex answers.’
New Law Journal, 17th February 2015
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
‘A gynaecologist who defrauded the NHS out of tens of thousands of pounds working as a locum while off work sick from a Cardiff hospital has avoided prison.’
BBC News, 15th December 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘In 2006, it was estimated that 35% of all GP consultations involved a mental health problem and by 2011 stress had become the most common cause of long-term sickness absence for both manual and non-manual workers. If these figures are not reason enough for employers to address their employees’ mental health issues, there are plenty more statistics that may convince them:
It is estimated that three in ten people will experience a mental health problem in any one year, and this figure is likely to increase.
Work-related stress costs Britain 10.4 million working days per annum, with a disconcerting 91 million days per year lost to mental health problems generally.
The Centre for Mental Health estimates that the total cost of mental health problems at work is over £30 billion a year.
When working long hours, more than a quarter of employees feel depressed (27%), one third feel anxious (34%) and more than half feel irritable (58%).’
Hardwicke Chambers, 11th December 2014
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Employees & cosmetic surgery: Sarah Johnson reports.’
11th June 2014
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
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