http://www.xperthr.co.uk/employmentlaw/default.aspx Latest articles added to the XpertHR employment law home page. ©2013 - www.xperthr.co.uk http://www.xperthr.co.uk/app_themes/default/images/logo.gif http://www.xperthr.co.uk/employmentlaw/default.aspx The XpertHR "how to" section provides practical guidance for employers on the factors to consider when proposing to dismiss employees in the context of a TUPE transfer.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116396/how-to-comply-with-the-law-on-dismissal-of-employees-in-relation-to-tupe-transfers.aspx Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116396howtocomplywiththelawondismissalofemployeesinrelationtotupetransfersaspx/howtocomplywiththelawondismissalofemployeesinrelationtotupetransfers We provide a summary and the full transcript of a recent employment tribunal ruling in which the tribunal considered whether or not it was discrimination for a manager with health and safety concerns to ask a Muslim interviewee about her unusually long religious dress.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116392/tribunal-update--interviewers-question-about-religious-dress-not-discriminatory.aspx Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116392tribunalupdateinterviewersquestionaboutreligiousdressnotdiscriminatoryaspx/tribunalupdateinterviewersquestionaboutreligiousdressnotdiscriminatory The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that a voluntary redundancy scheme providing higher severance payments to older workers did not amount to unlawful direct age discrimination because the differential treatment was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim of a public interest nature, in one of the latest case reports added to XpertHR. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116360/case-report-round-up--higher-severance-payments-for-older-employees-were-justified.aspx Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116360casereportrounduphigherseverancepaymentsforolderemployeeswerejustifiedaspx/casereportrounduphigherseverancepaymentsforolderemployeeswerejustified On this week's XpertHR Weekly, we discuss an age discrimination case brought by a young worker. In Roberts v Cash Zone (Camberley) Ltd and another ET/2701804/2012, the employment tribunal was required to determine, among other things, whether or not a manager's use of the words "teenager" and "kid" to describe the claimant amounted to harassment because of her age.    http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116363/podcast--age-discrimination.aspx Fri, 14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116363podcastagediscriminationaspx/podcastagediscrimination The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published an "indicative timetable" giving further details of when the provisions of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 are expected to come into force, including the repeal of the third-party harassment provisions of the Equality Act 2010 and the introduction of early conciliation through Acas. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116362/government-announces-dates-for-employment-law-changes.aspx Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116362governmentannouncesdatesforemploymentlawchangesaspx/governmentannouncesdatesforemploymentlawchanges Consultant editor Darren Newman looks at the implications of the ruling that ex-Woolworths staff who worked in stores with fewer than 20 employees should be compensated for the lack of consultation over their redundancy. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116353/the-implications-of-the-woolworths-redundancy-decision.aspx Thu, 13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116353theimplicationsofthewoolworthsredundancydecisionaspx/theimplicationsofthewoolworthsredundancydecision The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that where multiple grievances are made in good faith, albeit they are ill founded, they are protected acts for which the employer cannot subject the employee to a detriment.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116357/victimisation--multiple-grievances-made-in-good-faith-are-protected-acts.aspx Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116357victimisationmultiplegrievancesmadeingoodfaithareprotectedactsaspx/victimisationmultiplegrievancesmadeingoodfaithareprotectedacts The XpertHR "how to" section provides practical guidance for employers on the issues that can arise when considering a phased return to work after long-term sickness absence.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116351/how-to-implement-a-phased-return-to-work-after-long-term-sickness-absence.aspx Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116351howtoimplementaphasedreturntoworkafterlongtermsicknessabsenceaspx/howtoimplementaphasedreturntoworkafterlongtermsicknessabsence XpertHR's model whistleblowing policy has been updated to take account of changes to the law from 25 June 2013. A new model form to give a worker a formal means to make a disclosure has also been added to the XpertHR policies and documents service.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116343/updated-whistleblowing-policy-and-new-model-whistleblowing-form.aspx Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116343updatedwhistleblowingpolicyandnewmodelwhistleblowingformaspx/updatedwhistleblowingpolicyandnewmodelwhistleblowingform We provide a summary and the full transcript of two recent employment tribunal rulings in which a young worker and an older worker claimed that they were discriminated against on the basis of their age during performance management.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116339/tribunal-update--age-discrimination-during-performance-management.aspx Tue, 11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116339tribunalupdateagediscriminationduringperformancemanagementaspx/tribunalupdateagediscriminationduringperformancemanagement Acas has published a revised version of its draft code of practice on settlement agreements. The code, which sets out the broad principles covering the use of settlement agreements, has been produced to accompany new legislation on pre-termination negotiations.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116330/acas-publishes-revised-code-of-practice-covering-use-of-settlement-agreements.aspx Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116330acaspublishesrevisedcodeofpracticecoveringuseofsettlementagreementsaspx/acaspublishesrevisedcodeofpracticecoveringuseofsettlementagreements On this week's XpertHR Weekly, we discuss how to deal with reference requests, including: employers' obligations to the recipient of the reference and the person who is the subject of the reference; how to comply with the duty to provide true, accurate and fair information; how to deal with negative information such as disciplinary issues; why employers should consider implementing a policy on references; and what such a policy should include.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116320/podcast--dealing-with-a-reference-request.aspx Fri, 07 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116320podcastdealingwithareferencerequestaspx/podcastdealingwithareferencerequest The Supreme Court considered the scope of the defence under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 that an individual's course of conduct was pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime, in one of the latest case reports added to XpertHR. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116310/case-report-round-up--crime-prevention-defence-under-protection-from-harassment-act-1997.aspx Thu, 06 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116310casereportroundupcrimepreventiondefenceunderprotectionfromharassmentact1997aspx/casereportroundupcrimepreventiondefenceunderprotectionfromharassmentact1997 The Government has published the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, which include the new Employment Tribunals Rules of Procedure.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116289/government-publishes-new-employment-tribunal-rules.aspx Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116289governmentpublishesnewemploymenttribunalrulesaspx/governmentpublishesnewemploymenttribunalrules We provide a summary and the full transcript of a recent age discrimination employment tribunal ruling in which the tribunal concluded that a requirement for partners in a law firm to retire at the age of 65 was justified. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116286/tribunal-update--law-firms-mandatory-retirement-age-of-65-for-partners-was-justified.aspx Tue, 04 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116286tribunalupdatelawfirmsmandatoryretirementageof65forpartnerswasjustifiedaspx/tribunalupdatelawfirmsmandatoryretirementageof65forpartnerswasjustified On this week's XpertHR Weekly, we discuss employers' information and consultation obligations under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246). We also discuss the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision in Shields Automotive Ltd v Langdon and another EAT/0059/12, in which the EAT provided guidance on how employment tribunals should assess protective awards where employers breach such obligations.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116254/podcast--information-and-consultation-obligations-under-tupe.aspx Fri, 31 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116254podcastinformationandconsultationobligationsundertupeaspx/podcastinformationandconsultationobligationsundertupe The Court of Appeal held that there is no rule of law precluding an employer from reopening disciplinary proceedings and imposing a harsher penalty such as dismissal, in one of the latest case reports added to XpertHR. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116250/case-report-round-up--dismissals-following-reopened-disciplinary-proceedings-were-not-unfair.aspx Fri, 31 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116250casereportroundupdismissalsfollowingreopeneddisciplinaryproceedingswerenotunfairaspx/casereportroundupdismissalsfollowingreopeneddisciplinaryproceedingswerenotunfair A new model policy on flexitime has been added to the XpertHR policies and documents service. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116247/new-model-policy-on-flexitime.aspx Thu, 30 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116247newmodelpolicyonflexitimeaspx/newmodelpolicyonflexitime HM Courts and Tribunals Service has confirmed the date from which employment tribunal claimants and appellants to the Employment Appeal Tribunal will be liable to pay a fee. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116252/tribunals-service-confirms-implementation-date-for-fees.aspx Wed, 29 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116252tribunalsserviceconfirmsimplementationdateforfeesaspx/tribunalsserviceconfirmsimplementationdateforfees We provide a summary and the full transcript of two recent employment tribunal rulings in which an anaesthetist working for an NHS trust and a tutor working in a university brought complaints about the non-renewal of their fixed-term contracts.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116239/tribunal-update--non-renewal-of-fixed-term-contracts.aspx Wed, 29 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116239tribunalupdatenonrenewaloffixedtermcontractsaspx/tribunalupdatenonrenewaloffixedtermcontracts The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has confirmed that the three unsuccessful applicants in Eweida and others v United Kingdom will not have their cases considered further in the ECHR's Grand Chamber.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116242/echr-decision-rejecting-christians-workplace-religious-discrimination-claims-is-final.aspx Tue, 28 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116242echrdecisionrejectingchristiansworkplacereligiousdiscriminationclaimsisfinalaspx/echrdecisionrejectingchristiansworkplacereligiousdiscriminationclaimsisfinal On this week's XpertHR Weekly, we discuss Kpakio v Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd ET/1604280/2012, a race discrimination case in which a job applicant engineered an employment tribunal claim by submitting two applications, which stated different nationalities, for a job with Virgin Atlantic. We also discuss Otigba v Consensa Care Ltd ET/3201028/2012, in which the employee lied about her age on her CV.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116225/podcast--dishonest-cvs.aspx Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116225podcastdishonestcvsaspx/podcastdishonestcvs The European Court of Justice held that keeping differences in pay in the "interests of good industrial relations" cannot, by itself, be a sufficient justification, although can be one factor taken into account if there are other justifications, in the latest case report added to XpertHR. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116180/case-report-round-up--industrial-relations-concerns-alone-cannot-justify-unequal-pay.aspx Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116180casereportroundupindustrialrelationsconcernsalonecannotjustifyunequalpayaspx/casereportroundupindustrialrelationsconcernsalonecannotjustifyunequalpay The latest addition to XpertHR International is a guide to employment law in Canada. The guide provides a concise overview of the main points of employment law as a first point of reference for HR practitioners with responsibility for staff issues in Canada.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116177/canada-employment-law-guide.aspx Fri, 24 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116177canadaemploymentlawguideaspx/canadaemploymentlawguide The Government has published a second consultation on equal pay audits, following its consultation on modern workplaces in 2011.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116229/government-launches-further-consultation-on-equal-pay-audits.aspx Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116229governmentlaunchesfurtherconsultationonequalpayauditsaspx/governmentlaunchesfurtherconsultationonequalpayaudits The Employment Appeal Tribunal has provided guidance on how tribunals should assess protective awards where an employer has breached its obligation to inform and consult on a TUPE transfer.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116217/tupe-consultation--eat-provides-guidance-on-protective-awards-for-technical-breaches.aspx Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116217tupeconsultationeatprovidesguidanceonprotectiveawardsfortechnicalbreachesaspx/tupeconsultationeatprovidesguidanceonprotectiveawardsfortechnicalbreaches XpertHR's head of content Jo Stubbs and senior employment law editor Clio Springer discuss the recalculation of statutory maternity pay in the event of a pay rise.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116160/outlook-video--recalculating-smp-because-of-a-pay-rise.aspx Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116160outlookvideorecalculatingsmpbecauseofapayriseaspx/outlookvideorecalculatingsmpbecauseofapayrise On this week's XpertHR Weekly, we discuss how to manage bank holidays and the entitlement of part-time employees; employees on maternity leave; and employees on long-term sick leave. We also discuss how employers should deal with a request to work compressed hours (including their obligations around considering a flexible-working request) and the issues around the implementation of a compressed-hours request.    http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116164/podcast--managing-bank-holidays-and-compressed-hours.aspx Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116164podcastmanagingbankholidaysandcompressedhoursaspx/podcastmanagingbankholidaysandcompressedhours The Court of Appeal held that an employer vicariously liable for an employee's discriminatory act had joint and several liability for the whole sum awarded in compensation, in the latest case report added to XpertHR. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116163/case-report-round-up--employer-vicariously-liable-for-whole-discrimination-award.aspx Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116163casereportroundupemployervicariouslyliableforwholediscriminationawardaspx/casereportroundupemployervicariouslyliableforwholediscriminationaward The Supreme Court has restored the employment tribunal decision that a minister of religion was not an employee and could not therefore claim unfair dismissal. http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116167/employment-status--supreme-court-decides-church-minister-was-not-an-employee.aspx Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116167employmentstatussupremecourtdecideschurchministerwasnotanemployeeaspx/employmentstatussupremecourtdecideschurchministerwasnotanemployee Updates to XpertHR's international section this month include changes to the Belgium, China, Germany, Hong Kong and Ireland guides.  http://www.xperthr.co.uk/article/116137/international-guide-updates--may-2013.aspx Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT xperthr/elhome/article116137internationalguideupdatesmay2013aspx/internationalguideupdatesmay2013