News

When an employer dismisses an employee, they must establish a fair reason for dismissal under section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. One such reason is “some other substantial reason” (SOSR). The EAT has ruled that an employer’s genuine but mistaken belief that an employee had resigned can, in certain circumstances, amount to an … Read more

Until a new framework comes into force on 6 April 2025, employees do not have a specific statutory right to leave or pay if their baby requires specialist neonatal care after birth. Employees must instead rely on any existing statutory leave entitlements, such as statutory maternity leave, statutory adoption leave, shared parental leave (SPL), or … Read more

On 31st January 2025 Unison, Unite and GMB submitted the annual pay claim for 2025/26. The claim is:- In addition: Negotiations will now take place and are not expected to be conducted until later in the year. NJC Pay Claim 2025/26

In The British Council v Mr P Sellers: [2025] EAT 1, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that the Respondent, The British Council, had unfairly dismissed the Claimant, Mr Sellers, in breach of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, the EAT overturned the Employment Tribunal’s (ET) decision to order the Claimant’s re-engagement, ruling that the … Read more

If an employment tribunal upholds a complaint of unfair dismissal, it has the power to make an order for reinstatement or re-engagement. The EAT has held that a tribunal were wrong to order the re-engagement of an employee who had been unfairly dismissed following an allegation of sexual misconduct. Before ordering re-engagement, a tribunal must consider the … Read more

Most employers don’t wish to wait for the outcome of criminal proceedings before conducting a disciplinary hearing, particularly when the employee has been suspended on full pay. Criminal proceedings can take several months or longer, and the ACAS Code requires the employer to hold any disciplinary hearing without unreasonable delay, suggesting that hearings should not necessarily be postponed until court … Read more

Employers should develop a strategy for dealing with major travel disruptions. They will need to consider how best to ensure continuity and resilience if a significant proportion of staff are absent. They should also consider staff management issues such as whether to pay staff who are absent, whether to allow staff to work at home … Read more

Since 6th April 2020 all employees and workers are entitled to a ‘written statement of particulars of employment’ (usually contained in a Contract of Employment), which must be provided ‘not later than the beginning of the employment.’  Prior to April 2020 this written statement needed to be provided no later than two months after the … Read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that comments about an employee’s non-British accent could amount to racial harassment even though they were motivated by intelligibility rather than race.  In addition, a failure to provide notes from a meeting could amount to victimisation. Facts Ms Carozzi, a Brazilian national of Jewish ethnic origin, was employed by … Read more

On 27 and 28 November 2024, proposed amendments to the Employment Rights Bill were published. These include government amendments, which are likely be taken forward and non-government amendments that are less likely to be taken forward. Government amendments (likely) Non-government amendments (less likely)  The Public Bill Committee will consider all the proposed amendments put forward … Read more