Summary In two German cases relating to the right to a payment in lieu of accrued but untaken annual leave the European Court has ruled that, under the Working Time Directive, a worker does not automatically lose their accrued but untaken holiday entitlement at the end of a holiday year in when they have failed to seek to take their holiday entitlement for that period. However, holiday entitlement can be lost if the employer can show that it took steps to encourage the worker to take the holiday before the end of the holiday year. If the worker has not lost their holiday entitlement, they are entitled to a payment in lieu of that entitlement on termination, or to carry the entitlement forward into the next holiday year. – Read More…
Interim injunction to prevent alleged breach of non-disclosure agreement and identity of claimant (Court of Appeal).
Background The appellants are two companies in the same group and a senior executive of that group. Five employees of group companies had made allegations of discreditable conduct by the senior executive. Three of them did so through the companies’ confidential internal grievance procedures. Two of those employees, when their grievance was not upheld, brought (separate) proceedings in the Employment Tribunal, as did another who had not employed the grievance procedure. In all five cases the complaints were compromised by settlement agreements under which substantial payments were made to the complainants and were subject to non-disclosure agreements. On 16 July a Daily Telegraph journalist contacted the appellants with a view to obtaining their comments on a story which it was proposing to publish about the complainants’ allegations and also about – Read More…
Managing Director assaults Employee at hotel drinks after Christmas party – Appeal
Firstly, it is important to note that cases involving vicarious liability depend heavily on the facts. Vicarious liability in employment terms is where an Employer is held responsible for the acts or omissions of an Employee in the course of employment. The test used in these cases asks the question, were the torts so closely connected with the employment that it would be fair and just to hold the Employers vicariously liable? In the case of Bellman v Northampton Recruitment Ltd an incident took place after a Christmas party. The Managing Director (the MD) of the Respondent company physically attacked an employee leaving him with severe injuries. The Christmas party took place at a golf club and following the party, around half of the guests moved on to the hotel – Read More…
Businesses urged to increase mental health awareness
On 10th October 2018 it was World Mental Health Day. Around 1 in 3 people will at some point in their lives suffer from a mental health problem whilst in employment. Mental health is the single largest cause of disability in the UK, costing £100 billion each year, with around 70 million work days lost. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark, has urged businesses to increase awareness of mental health problems in the workplace. He has encouraged colleagues to look out for each other. It has been announced there are 8 new Mental Health Networks that will bring together their research and work with charities in order to improve mental health outcomes. It is important to help those who are struggling with mental health – Read More…
ICO commences enforcement action for failure to pay new data protection fee
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has commenced enforcement against 34 organisations that have failed to pay the new data protection fee following the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 25th May 2018. All organisations must pay a fee to the ICO if they process personal data, unless an exemption applies, with fees used to fund the ICO. The 34 enforcement notices were sent in September 2018 to a range of organisations across both the public and private sectors including the NHS, recruitment organisations, financial services and government departments. The ICO has stated that more notices will be issued shortly. The organisations have 21 days to respond. If they pay the relevant fee, no further enforcement action will be taken. Depending on the size and turnover of the – Read More…
CIPD and Mind launch guidance for managers to support mental health at work
Health charity Mind and the CIPD have released a revised guide for Managers to improve support for those experiencing stress and mental health issues at work. It also sets out the practical steps that employers can take to create a mentally healthy workplace and help prevent poor psychological well-being in the first place. The updated guidance follows recent CIPD research which found that less than one in three organisations (32%) train line managers to support staff with poor mental health. Mental ill health is now the primary cause of long-term sickness absence for over one in five (22%) UK organisations. A recent Mind survey of over 44,000 employees also found that only two in five (42%) felt their manager would be able to spot the signs they were struggling with – Read More…
Appeal against a finding that the Claimant had not resigned but had been dismissed by the Respondent. Appeal dismissed.
Ms Levy was employed by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust since 29 March 2006 as an Assistant Administrator. Ms Levy had experienced various issues during her employment and had a difficult relationship with one of her colleagues. She had also been spoken to regarding her absence record. As Ms Levy became unhappy in her role, she applied for a different role within the trust. She was informed she was successful on 9th June 2016 subject to pre-engagement checks. On 10th June 2016, an issue occurred between Ms Levy and a colleague and this led to Ms Levy handing a letter to her Manager stating “Please accept one month’s notice from the above date. Her manager responded by letter on the same day accepting her resignation and confirmed that – Read More…
Parents who lose a child to be entitled to bereavement leave.
A new workplace right to paid leave for bereaved parents has been officially enshrined in law on Thursday 13 September 2018 as the Parental Leave and Pay Bill achieves Royal Assent. The first law of its kind in the UK will support those affected by the tragedy of childhood mortality and is expected to come into force in 2020. The new Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay Act will give all employed parents a day-one right to 2 weeks’ leave if they lose a child under the age of 18, or suffer a stillbirth from 24 weeks of pregnancy. Employed parents will also be able to claim pay for this period, subject to meeting eligibility criteria. The leave must be taken within 56 days of the child’s death. Source: BEIS: UK – Read More…
GDPR Data breach complaints more than doubled
The ICO (The Information Commissioner’s Office) has seen a significant increase in the number of complaints about data breaches since GDPR came into force in May 2018. According to data, complaints to the ICO rose 160 per cent, to 6,281, between the 25th May and 3rd July this year compared to the same period in 2017. The complaints include individuals alleging that their personal data had been shared without their permission, and companies self-reporting incidents where data was accessed. Over a quarter of complaints were made against firms holding sensitive information in industries such as financial services, education and health It is suggested that greater media attention advertising have increased individual’s awareness of their rights and are therefore making complaints if they feel their personal data has been shared without – Read More…
Over half of workers (56 per cent) think it’s likely that they’re being monitored at work
New research conducted by the TUC has revealed that the majority of working people (56 per cent) think it’s likely that they’re being monitored at work. Almost three-in-four (72 per cent) believe it’s at least fairly likely that at least one form of workplace monitoring is happening in their workplace. The most common forms of surveillance include: Monitoring employees’ work emails, files and browsing histories (49 per cent of people think it’s fairly likely or very likely to be happening in their workplace) CCTV (45 per cent) Phone logs and calls, including the recording of calls (42 per cent) However, even more advanced forms of surveillance such as facial recognition and handheld/wearable location tracking devices are more commonly used than might have been expected. The TUC argues that many workers – Read More…