What’s new

This month we look at two shocking reports on sexual harassment at work, new ACAS guidance on overtime and suspension, updated Home Office guidance on right to work checks, and the latest statistics from the employment tribunal. Read more

Case law review

Warnings for disability related absence

Most employers issue disciplinary warnings where an employee’s attendance levels fall below a satisfactory standard, but what if poor attendance is caused by a disability? In the recent case of DL Insurance Services Ltd v O’Connor the EAT considered this question. Read more

A rock and a hard place – dismissals where there may be no right to work

Under current immigration legislation, an employer is liable for a civil penalty of up to £20,000 if it employs someone who does not have the right to work in the UK and it does not have the necessary evidence of right to work to establish a statutory excuse to a civil penalty. Obtaining evidence of right to work before employment has started is straightforward however where an employee fails to provide evidence of an ongoing right to work, an employer can find itself caught between the rock of civil or even criminal liability, and the hard place of an unfair dismissal claim. Read more

Disability Discrimination

In the case of Ali v Bedford Hill Family Practice the EAT considered whether a decision to dismiss an employee who was unable to return to work full time because of an ongoing heart condition amounted to disability discrimination. Read more

Lower termination payments for fixed-term workers not unlawful

In the cases of Montero Mateos and Grupo Norte, the ECJ has held that a Spanish law giving fixed-term workers less compensation than permanent staff on the termination of their employment did not breach the Fixed-Term Work Directive. Read more

Leaking confidential information part of ‘trade union activities’

In the recent case of Morris v Metrolink the Court of Appeal has decided that the dismissal of a trade union representative when he retained and used leaked confidential information relating to union members was a dismissal for taking part in trade union activities and hence automatically unfair. Read more

Who to contact

Jack Harrington

Head of Employment

0161 393 9050

jack.harrington@pannonecorporate-com.stackstaging.com