Employment and Trade Union Law
Just over a year ago the Employment Appeal Tribunal issued its decision in Lofty v Hamis t/a First Café and in its wake there was a lot of online discussions about whether precancerous conditions come within the deemed disability provisions of the Equality Act 2010. Normally, in order to be a disability for the purposes … Continue reading Pre-Cancer
This morning the results of the election to determine who would be Left Unity's nominee as PCS' Assistant General Secretary were released, with Chris Baugh being the elected candidate (subject to any appeals, etc). Those who have followed the election will know this follows a protracted and strongly contested process. Chris Baugh, the current AGS … Continue reading PCS Union AGS Election
Occupational Health advice is a means by which an employer can seek medical advice from qualified persons (usually a Dr or nurse) on what a medical issue is likely to mean for an employee in respect to their work. For example, how it the medical condition will affect attendance, how it will impact performance or … Continue reading Inadequate Enquiries
One issue I have found myself advising workers on more and more recently is on the subject of holiday pay, specifically whether an employee should be compensated for any holiday she has not been able to take because of her long term absence from work. It has also become a check I take on all … Continue reading Holiday Pay: Use it or Lose it?
If you are a trade union representative one of the go to arguments you will often employ is that the employer is acting contrary to natural justice. Natural Justice can be summarised as comprising of two components: That a person accused of wrongdoing will be told what exactly they are accused of, given the chance … Continue reading Salmond, Natural Justice, and Unfair Employer Misconduct Investigations
In the 2017 case of O'Brien v Bolton St Catherine's Academy the Court of Appeal considered the question of whether the test of whether a discriminatory dismissal under section 15 of the Equality Act 2010 was necessarily an unfair dismissal. The key issue was whether the test as to whether a dismissal was "a proportionate … Continue reading Discriminatory Dismissals and the Band of Reasonable Responses
It is well known that the Equality Act recognises nine 'protected characteristics.' In the majority of cases the claim will require that a person holds that protected characteristic to bring a claim. Thus, one cannot make a claim in the employment tribunal that your employer indirectly discriminates against older workers if you are in fact … Continue reading Eye of the Beholder
