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Are employers too quick to suspend employees accused of wrongdoing? Court forces employer to lift eminent doctor’s suspension
The answer this month was a resounding yes in the case of Professor Marjan Jahangiri the first female professor of cardiac surgery in the United Kingdom and Europe who works at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, London.
Gig economy: informal and flexible – but who has what rights when it all goes wrong?
In the recent judgment in Pimlico Plumbers Ltd and another v Smith [2018] UKSC 29, the Supreme Court ruled that a plumber who paid tax as a self-employed contractor was a worker with rights to bring Employment Tribunal claims outside the contract. Jean Sapeta explains why and what it means for you.
Being Paid to Sleep? Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake
In Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson-Blake the Court of Appeal has determined that workers who “sleep in” at their workplace are not entitled to receive national minimum wage for periods when they are asleep. This is because time spent asleep in this way is properly characterised as time when an employee is ‘available for work’ rather than time when they are actually working.
NHS hospital consultant surgeon with unblemished record summarily dismissed even though no gross misconduct
The consequences of summary dismissal from a professional role for misconduct are grave and life disrupting – the abrupt loss of a hard won high status career and earning capacity, possible referral to a Regulator (GMC etc) and intense personal distress.
Employment Newsbrief Summer 2018 now available!
Welcome to the Summer edition of the Hempsons’ Employment Newsbrief, a round-up of some of the hot legal topics in the Employment sector.
GDPR Your questions answered
25 May 2018 marked the introduction of the new General Data Protection Regulation in the UK in the form of the Data Protection Act 2018 and we have been answering many clients’ HR-related questions on the new legislation.
Hincks v Sense Network
It is commonly accepted that when a person applies for a job, they will usually be asked to provide a reference from their previous employer. By the same token, employers are usually willing to provide a reference for an employee leaving their employment and doing so is standard practice.
Reilly v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (2018)
Would it be fair to dismiss an employee if they had failed to disclose a relationship with a person convicted of serious criminal offence (even if this was not necessarily a breach of an express term of the employee’s contract)? This question was addressed by the Supreme Court in the case of Reilly v Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council (2018) UKSC 16. The Supreme Court also considered the standard approach to the reasonableness of a dismissal, the Burchell test.
Update – Tax changes to termination payments
Back in the 2016 Budget, the government announced that from April 2018, it would “reform and simplify” the taxation of termination payments. Following a technical consultation, the reforms expanded and now aim to "clarify and tighten" (i.e. increase) the taxation of such payments.
Should shared parental leave be paid at enhanced rates like maternity leave?
Not according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT held in Capita Customer Management Ltd v Ali that maternity leave was not the same as shared parental leave, and to have pay differentials between the two was not discriminatory.
Can a disability account for bad behaviour?
The recent Employment Tribunal decision of Wheeley v University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust serves as a timely reminder that where conduct issues are said to arise from an underlying mental health condition employers should be cautious of departing from medical opinion.
When does notice take effect?
The Supreme Court handed down a judgment last week in the case of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood confirming that where a contract is silent on when notice is deemed to be given, notice takes effect when it is actually received by the employee and they have read it, or had a reasonable opportunity to do so.
Zero hours and annual leave
Many employers choose to calculate holiday pay for their zero hours workers as 12.07% of their normal pay. A recent decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Brazel -v- The Harpur Trust (2018), may lead to some employers rethinking this.
Poor Performance and Misconduct – Navigating the Minefield
“No man is an island” - this phrase is particularly pertinent in the workplace, given that many of us depend on the skills, experience, expertise or manpower of employees in order to succeed. Whilst employing staff is positive and beneficial for the most part, it also involves issues and potential liabilities, which can be difficult to manage especially for smaller employers with limited resources. This article looks at two common employment scenarios and gives guidance on how best to manage them successfully.