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The Part-time Workers Regulations 2000 provide that part-time workers (male and female) should be treated equally with comparable full-time workers on a pro rata basis unless an employer can justify not doing so.
Any unjustifiable failure to treat part-time workers equally is also likely to be indirect sex discrimination as is any refusal to allow a woman (or married man with childcare responsibilities) to work part-time. The Equal Pay Act 1970 will also apply where part-time workers are given less favourable terms and conditions including pay.
PILON stands for Pay In Lieu of Notice. Instead of placing the employee on Garden Leave or making them work their notice, the employer can end the contract of employment earlier by making a payment to the employee that is equivalent to the amount they would have received had they worked their notice.
This can be paid free of tax and national insurance contributions (i.e. Gross) where the employer has not reserved the right to make the payment in the contract of employment or where it is not paid by custom and practice. This is because by doing so the employer is breaching the employment contract and it is damages for breach of contract.
If the right to make the payment is reserved in the contract of employment or where it is paid by custom and practice, then the payment is subject to deductions and paid net.
The Points Based System (PBS) is the new immigration system under which workers and students will be required to come to the UK. It replaces over 80 routes to work and study in the UK with 5 tiers. Migrants will need to pass a points-based assessment before they are given permission to enter or remain in the UK. Each tier has different point requirements. Points will be awarded for things such as qualifications, age and experience. For all tiers except tier 1 (which is for highly skilled migrants) a sponsor is required and the sponsor will have had to obtain a sponsor licence.
A pre-hearing review is a hearing which deals with a preliminary issue in advance of a main hearing which deals with the substantive issues. Example: In a case of unfair dismissal a pre-hearing review could be used to deal with the issue of whether the Claimant was in fact an employee of the Respondent.
In simple terms this translates to mean “for this occasion”.
This principle is important in establishing vicarious liability.
In practice there are occasions when employers lend or hire employees to other employers (recipient employers). This is often for a particular purpose, for example to undertake specialist tasks. Usually the employee will continue to be employed by the original employer under the terms and conditions of his or her contract of employment, however, there are occasions when the employee will be deemed as being employed by the recipient employers.
To assess which employer is liable for the employee, the arrangements between the parties are looked at, with particular attention given to the party who controls the work that the employee undertakes. In the case of Sime v Sutcliffe Catering Scotland Limited [1990] IRLR 228 it was decided that the recipient employer was liable for the employee because the day to day management and control of the employee was undertaken by themselves.
Under the new Equality Act 2010 there are 9 protected characteristics. These are:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion or belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
Where 20 or more employees at any one establishmnet may be made redundant, the employer must consult with the ‘appropriate representatives’. Should an employer fail to consult in accordance with the legal requirements it could be liable to pay what’s known as a protective award of up to 90 days’ pay for each employee.
Similarly an employer may be liable to pay a protective award if it fails to consult employeees about measures which may be taken in respect of a TUPE transfer. In this case the maxiumum award is 13 weeks’ pay.
