As specialists in employment law, we have day to day experience in all employment related matters. We would like to share some of our insights in the articles on this page.

News and comment from the team

A v PWC

A complex case of involving race discrimination and victimisation of a very senior partner at PWC for a period of over ten years. The claim was for £2.6 million.

This case entailed a claim for over £15 million by a trader from a well-known bank. The Claimant was allegedly denied a large bonus in breach of contract, subjected to disability discrimination and unfairly dismissed, which caused him to suffer a stress related illness.

Driven by success, not billing targets

Employment contract disputes – restrictive covenants

Restrictive covenants are contractual clauses that place a constraint on the way an employee can behave with respect to certain aspects of his or her job. Although a contract of employment may have come to an end, the restrictive covenants will often continue in force, ensuring that an employee cannot set up in competition with the company that they have just left. These types of clauses are oft

Maternity and paternity issues for part time workers

Whilst flexible working used to have something of a stigma attached to it, nowadays it is recognised as an important way for the changing structures of family life to function to provide for the needs of the modern family. In the light of this, the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (the ‘Regulations’) provides protection for those who are able to work par

Returning to work after maternity or paternity leave

When children come into the equation, there can be a need to reevaluate the balance of work and life. For many people this will be looking at changing working hours, flexible or part time working. Whilst there is no right to be allowed to work flexibly, there is the right (since 2003) to request flexible working conditions. Conditions that can be requested as flexible working include asking for di

Part time workers

As a result of the changing structure of family life, the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000 (the ‘Regulations’) have been introduced to ensure that those who want to work part time have some degree of protection. Claims brought under the Regulations are brought to an Employment Tribunal within three months less one day of the unfavourable treatment that i

Privacy at work

When personal or sensitive personal data is stored or handled by an employer’s relevant filing system (such as manual or paper files, a computer, or another type of electronic device), the Data Protection Act 1998 (the ‘Act’) will apply. Handling or processing may include getting hold of, recording, modifying, retaining or deleting information, and a ‘relevant filing system’ must be a highly struc

Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (‘TUPE’) provides protection to existing contracted employees where there is a transfer to another legal entity of: 1. A business or undertaking, 2. A part of a business or undertaking, or 3. A service provider. Both 1 and 2 above will constitute a ‘business transfer’ and will be protected by TUPE. An example of such

Family Leave

Paternity leave, parental leave and taking time off for dependants are family related rights that are perhaps not that well known in the UK, particularly when compared to those that are more commonly acknowledged, such as maternity leave. However, they do exist and both employers and employees should be aware of the circumstances in which they can be used. Paternity Leave The biologi

Grievance & Disciplinary Hearings – Grievance procedures

The point of a grievance procedure is to try and enable a solution to be found when problems arise in the workplace between employer and employee, without there being an escalation to a more formal type of process, such as an Employment Tribunal. The kinds of issues that may arise could include problems with contractual terms, salary and working conditions, and issues of discrimination. Before the

Discrimination at work – Age Discrimination & Benefits

With the arrival of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations in 2006 and the later consolidation of all equality measures into the Equality Act 2010 (‘EA’), treating someone differently in a work environment because of their age, without good reason, became unlawful. However, it is recognized that there are some workplace policies, decision etc that, whilst they may theoretically constitute discr

Age Discrimination and Pensions

Occupational pension schemes – and their existing and future members – and contributions made by employers to employees’ personal pension schemes are covered by UK age discrimination legislation (the pension provisions of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (as amended) as incorporated into the Equality Act 2010 (‘EA’)). This legislation prohibits discrimination on the grounds of

Age discrimination and retirement

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 brought in some important changes to the default age for retirement, which used to be 65. These regulations were then consolidated into the Equality Act 2010 (‘EA’). The default retirement age was phased out from 6th April 2011 and anyone who has been dismissed after that date because of their age could be a victim of direct discrimination under the E

Practical tips when preparing for an internal procedure or tribunal claim

Most employees don’t enter a job thinking that they will be submitting a grievance, responding to a disciplinary charge or taking their new employer to the Employment Tribunal at any point.

Moira Stuart quits, reigniting BBC ageism row

Moira Stuart, the veteran newsreader, has reignited the row over ageism in the BBC after announcing she is quitting the corporation after more than 30 years.

Married HBOS bank manager propositioned by colleagues

Haley Tansey, a married former HBOS manager, was forced out of her job by a “harassing and laddish culture” including unwanted advances from colleagues, an employment tribunal heard.

Contract disputes and permanent health insurance

A private health insurance policy can be taken out by an employer to provide benefits in a situation where an employee is unable to work. This is a three-way relationship, where the insurer and the employer have a legal relationship via the insurance policy, and the employer and employee via an employment contract. Applications under a private health insurance policy can sometimes take seve

Age Discrimination – Recruitment and Selection

Age discrimination legislation was introduced first in 2006 with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, which was then incorporated with all other UK equality legislation into the Equality Act 2010 (‘EA’). Since the legislation was introduced it has created a number of situations relating to the recruitment of employees that could constitute age discrimination. Where a claim is to

Bonus Disputes

Bonus schemes tend to fall into two types – discretionary and contractual – or the scheme may be a mix of both of these. The structure of the scheme will usually be set out in an employee’s contract of employment. Where the scheme combines both these types of bonuses, in general this will give the employee the right to be taken into account when it comes to awarding bonuses, but whether or not tha

« First ‹ Previous 16 17 18 192021 Next ›

Testimonial

The specialist advice NEL have given us and their thorough planning and administration highlight their collective competence. Its good to know you have such an experienced team working for you when the stakes are high. Thanks to NEL we’re now much better informed and have a wide understanding of the risks we face and how to avoid them in future.
Zaher Shaikh