Employment and Trade Union Law
Despite numerous campaigns over the years it remains the case that, except where bullying is related to a protected characteristic (race, religion, disability, etc) then there is no express protection for bullying victims in employment law. In truth there are only limited legal protections. There is of course a duty of care upon employers for … Continue reading Protection for employees who complain of bullying
When deciding what compensation a successful claimant can receive in an employment tribunal section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Consolidated Act 1992 allows for compensation to be increased (or decreased) by up to 25% if a party has failed to follow a Code of Practice issued by ACAS which applies in the … Continue reading ACAS uplifts in automatically unfair dismissals
In February 2020 (back when coronavirus was barely a thing - it seems so long ago!) the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office announced in a press briefing that he had resigned from his role because continuing was no longer tenable, given a reported hostile working relationship caused by alleged activities of the Home Secretary … Continue reading What’s new in Rutnam’s constructive dismissal complaint?
In May 2020 a PCS Union rep was dismissed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), a decision PCS believe to be in retaliation for the rep blowing the whistle on matters of public interest. The summary below is taken from the PCS website but I do hope all readers, whatever their union, take … Continue reading DWP dismissed whistleblower
When considering a complaint of unfair dismissal the first decision an employment tribunal must make long, before there is any consideration of reasonableness of the decision, is what the reason for dismissal was, and together with that, whether the reason for dismissal is for one of the potentially fair reasons for dismissal. In many, and … Continue reading Employment tribunal forgets to consider reason for dismissal
In the previous two posts (here and here) I summarised the effect of the Orr judgement on the fairness of dismissals and how the the effect of Orr on how an employment tribunal will determine the reason for dismissal has been tweaked by the Supreme Court's decision late last year in Jhuti. I think 'tweak' is the right term, … Continue reading The Mind of the Decider (3): Problem Solved?
The Supreme Court's long awaited decision in Jhuti has now been delivered which is one all employee reps would do well to be aware of. The legal issue which the judgement addresses was surveyed a few weeks ago in which I expressed hope that the Court of Appeal's decision in Orr would be overruled. To recap, under … Continue reading The mind of the decider (2): The effect of Jhuti
In 2005 Mr Orr, a Black Jamaican youth worker, was dismissed by Milton Keynes Council for misconduct. He was dismissed by a Mr Cove who heard the case against Mr Orr, and at which Mr Orr was not present. Mr Cove conducted the disciplinary hearing in good faith and, as noted, this resulted in Mr … Continue reading The Mind of the Decider (1): The case of Orr
Back in February Erika Kelton asked whether the Financial Conduct Authority would blink first in its investigation of how Barclays chief Jes Staley responded to whistleblowing concerns at the bank. Today the answer to Kelton's question is clear: the FCA has bottled it and effectively given the Barclays chief a slap on the wrist, which … Continue reading FCA bottles Barclays investigation on Whistleblowing
A scenario: Sarah, who is an employee, suspects that the company's finance officer is 'cooking the books' by skimming company funds into his personal accounts having come across a printed document left on the printer in the office. Concerned about this Sarah reports her concerns to the company's HR director and explains that she thinks … Continue reading Whistleblowing: not just and equitable
