News

In the case of University of Sunderland v Drossou (EAT), the facts are Ms Drossou worked for the University of Sunderland and was dismissed as a result of an irretrievable breakdown in working relationships for which she was considered to be the primary cause. The employment tribunal found that she had been unfairly dismissed. Chapter … Read more

What to do if you have symptoms of COVID-19 Try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you or your child have symptoms and either: You can go back to your normal activities when you feel better or do not have a high temperature.If your child has mild symptoms such as … Read more

Following the School Teachers’ Review Body 33rd report, the Government has decided to accept the reports recommendations meaning Teachers will be given a 6.5% increase for 2023-24. Rishi Sunak has confirmed the rise is “fully funded”, with school budgets protected and money within the Department of Education “reallocated”. The general secretaries of four education unions … Read more

This is an important issue for schools, particularly in relation to recruitment and if a school becomes part of an academy as this would be a TUPE transfer.  Basically continuous service still counts for sick pay, redundancy and maternity.  In fact, for teachers all aggregated service counts for sick pay purposes, even if there has … Read more

On the 19th June 2023, the NEU released new information regarding upcoming strike dates.  This information can be found HERE

On 8 June 2023, as the UK Health Security Agency and Met Office issued the first yellow heat-health alert of the year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) called on employers to protect workers during periods of extreme hot weather. The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 require employers to ensure that temperatures in … Read more

The DfE have released the 2023 version of its Keeping Children Safe in Education document. This comes into effect from 1st September 2023.  The key points are as follows: Link to document: Keeping children safe in education 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk)

In order to establish that a dismissal was for a pregnancy related reason, an employee must prove that the actual decision maker decided to dismiss for a pregnancy related reason.  If the decision maker is influenced by another employee, who is motivated to act in a discriminatory manner, that is not sufficient.  In summary, the … Read more

On 24 May 2023, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) published guidance on subject access requests (SARs) for businesses and employers The article is titled, “SARs Q&A for employers” alongside a blog. The right of individuals to access their own personal data that organisations hold is contained in the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. If organisations … Read more

The EAT has upheld an employment tribunal’s finding that it was unfair to make an employee redundant during the COVID-19 pandemic without considering furlough as an alternative. Mrs Mhindurwa was a live-in carer. In May 2020, she was put at risk of redundancy due to a reduction in live-in care work. She asked to be … Read more