The World Health Organisation’s recent ‘World Mental Health Day’ aimed to bring mental health issues “out of the shadows” with a day of education and awareness. The recognition of mental health being as important as one’s physical health is an important development in the understanding and healing process of our health and wellbeing. The Duke…
With all of us having such an emotional investment in the NHS and its future, it’s difficult for most of us to not to take sides in the current clash of junior doctors v. the government. As the latter has now decided to forcefully impose the unwanted new contracts on junior doctors, it appears to…
The owners of the John O’Gaunt pub in Hungerford, the Innformal Pub Company, are being prosecuted in a tribunal by the pub’s former landlady, Rachel Skiffington, who claims she was sacked for becoming pregnant and was told by her bosses that they ‘didn’t want someone fat, wobbly and useless behind the bar’. Rachel and her…
Yes says the European Court of Human Rights (“ECHR”) In a dramatic ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, employers are allowed to read the private messages of their employees on email and other forms of internet communication on a work computer. The ruling is in relation to a recent case where a firm…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) is to hear the case of Lock v British Gas on 8 and 9 December. The case will be heard after British Gas appealed an employment tribunal (ET) ruling in March found that commission must be included when employers calculate holiday pay. The Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that the Working Time…
It is devastating for an employer to discover that a trusted employee with years of loyal service has had their ‘fingers in the till’ for some time. It’s not only the financial loss that you may have incurred, it’s also the total betrayal from someone whose work and support you have relied on and believed…
As the inquest into the tragic death of nine month old Millie Thompson has begun, her bereaved parents, who are still struggling to come to terms with the loss of their adored and beautiful baby daughter, have expressed their relief that new laws may now come into force as a consequence of Millie choking to…
A ground breaking ruling at an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the case of Bear Scotland v Fulton (and conjoined cases) has meant an additional burden to employers, who may now have to take into consideration any overtime their workforce have carried out when calculating their paid holiday leave. Until this ruling, only basic pay…
What is “flexible working”? Flexible working is a term used to describe any working arrangement that is outside an employee’s normal pattern of work. A request for flexible working can include a request to change the days or hours worked, the times of work, or even the place of work (such as a request to…
There are a number of interesting changes affecting employment law which come into force over the next couple of months. These have far reaching consequences for employers and employees alike. Already, the changes in the law and the introduction of fees has seen a 76% drop in cases going to the employment tribunal. The current…