News

You may have read in the press that there is a campaign being run by a gender equality charity, The Fawcett Society, to make a change in the law to try to cut down on instances of unequal pay. They believe that women should have the right to know what their male colleagues are being paid if they suspect pay discrimination. Would that worry you?

This is often a question I am asked, but if I have drafted your written statement of employment templates, you will see that I restrict this to 4 weeks should an individual be unable to take any of their leave in the year due to sickness. However, there has been a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) case asking just this question.

As we head towards the end of the year, the shops will be stepping up their Christmas campaigns and trying to persuade us all to enter into the spirit of the festive season.  Some I know put their trees up in November, which always seems a bit early to me.  However, this brings us to the annual message from HR professionals throughout the land about making sure it is an enjoyable time and doesn't get you or your employees into trouble with misbehaviour during Christmas parties.  This year there has been news that some of the bigger employers have decided to scale down evening events and instead go for lunchtime meals whilst making sure that they appoint "Sober Chaperones."

If a manager decides to bring about the dismissal of an employee, and fakes an admissible reason which fools the more senior dismissing officer, what is the ‘principal reason’ for dismissal? The hidden reason operating in the mind of the original manager, or the admissible reason operating in the mind of the decision-maker?

The Supreme Court has recently decided that is the hidden reason in the case brought by Jhuti against the Royal Mail Group. This is an extremely important ruling and will have a significant impact all unfair dismissal cases.

According to a recent survey, a third of firms who regularly use contractors are not aware of the upcoming changes to legislation (known as IR35) that deals with the way they should be paid. It is already in place for public sector organisations but is being extended to private firms and charities in April 2020.