Archive for December, 2006
By Philip - Friday, December 22nd, 2006
In late news, the EAT has referred the issue of associative discrimination to the ECJ in the decision here. The decision may cause your babel fish trouble in deciphering it’s meaning. Applying occam’s razor to the decision, the point can be put succintly in this way: Associative discrimination is discrimination based on a third party ’s disability, in this case the child of an employee. The disability discrimination alleged was a failure by the employer to allow the employee time off to look after her disabled child.Is that associative discrimination covered by the DDA? The point has now been referred to the ECJ to decide whether the DDA should be interpreted in such a purposive way, so that a non disabled person can claim disability discrimination. Food for thought.
Posted in Disability Discrimination | No comments »
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By Philip - Friday, December 22nd, 2006
Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year!
Posted in PJH Law News | No comments »
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By Philip - Thursday, December 21st, 2006
PJH Law ask all their clients to complete a feedback form at the completion of each matter. To date 73% of our clients rate our services as excellent and 98% of our clients rate our services as good or excellent.
The winner of the final quarter’s feedback prize draw is Rachel from Stamford, pictured with Philip Hyland, with a sample from the case of wine prize.
Posted in PJH Law Prizewinners | No comments »
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By Philip - Wednesday, December 20th, 2006
One of the first cases to achieve prominence under the Sexual Orientation Regulations was the case of the gay banker, where the allegations concerned dismissal for gross misconduct following an alleged incident in a gym allegedly involving a shower, a towel and, er, a state of excitement. The case was won by the employee, although not resoundingly, at the Tribunal. The employee appealed and has won his appeal. The case is reported here and is of interest, salacious detail aside, for highlighting the risk in involving your Company Solicitors in preparing a disciplinary investigatory report.
Posted in Sex/Race Discrimination | No comments »
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By Philip - Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Where an employer is closing a site but also has a mobility clause, can the employer rely on the mobility clause to avoid the redundancies by moving the staff to another site? The answer is it can subject to ensuring that it acts in good faith and does not dodge between the two. Decision here.
Posted in Redundancy | No comments »
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By Philip - Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Christmas is fast approaching. Our opening times this week are 8.30am until 6pm Monday - Thursday. On Friday the office will close at 12.30pm and re-open at 8.30am on Tuesday 2nd January 2007.
Posted in PJH Law News | No comments »
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By Philip - Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
The Government has launched a review of dispute resolution in the workplace. The current system is complex and often creates more problems than it solves. The review is to look at how the system can be simplified for employers and employees alike. At present the rules have not been popular due to their complexity and draconian consequences for non-compliance. In our experience the Dispute Resolution Regulations have led to more Pre-hearing Reviews and valid claims being struck out, however, in some cases a grievance can resolve problems between the parties. Watch this space!
Posted in Statutory Procedures | No comments »
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By Philip - Monday, December 18th, 2006
The case reported here is a salutary reminder that employees are protected where employers are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees as redundant. In this case a school was in financial difficulty and announced its closure, thereby making all teaching staff redundant. The Tribunal was under-whelmed by the process the school followed and awarded 90 days pay per redundant employee by way of a protective award.
Posted in Redundancy | No comments »
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By Philip - Friday, December 15th, 2006
We know that Staff Christmas parties can get a little, er, messy when alcohol is involved. Over the years we have dealt with queries ranging from throwing up in the back of taxis, fist fights, food fights, improper use of the photo-copier, improper use of the, er, stationery cupboard, rude and abusive behaviour, and the list goes on. The key to getting it right is ensuring that before the event, everyone knows what behaviour is expected and know where the boundaries are. Any queries, please call, in the meantime enjoy your Company’s Christmas knees up.
Posted in Uncategorized | No comments »
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By Philip - Thursday, December 14th, 2006
The Court of Appeal has handed down its decision concerning what amounts to a disclosure under the Whistleblowing legislation. The employee was a teacher who resigned after he received a formal warning from the School for hacking into the computer to expose a flaw in the security system, having obatined permission to do so in advance. The employee claimed he had suffered a detriment as a result of disclosing the employer’s breach in its data protection obligations. The Court of Appeal held “disclosure” under s43B of the ERA should be given its common meaning. This limits disclosure to the utterance of the words to the employer about the breach of their obligation but does not extend to the surrounding circumstances. The employee is seeking to appeal the decision to the House of Lords. Read Download bolton_school_v_evans.htm here.
Posted in Whistleblowing | No comments »
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