Contracts of employment

New and updated

• Breach of contract: Employer did not breach contract of employment when, due to financial constraints, it did not provide expected incremental pay increase

  Date:

  14 December 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Equality and Human Rights Commission v Earle [2014] IRLR 845 EAT, the EAT held that an employer did not breach the contract of employment when, in light of financial constraints, it decided not to give the incremental pay increase that the employee expected.

• Race discrimination: An employee's illegal immigration status did not operate as a bar to defeat her discrimination claims

  Date:

  3 December 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Hounga v Allen and another [2014] IRLR 811 SC, the Supreme Court held that a domestic worker who had knowingly entered the country illegally was entitled to claim discrimination against her employer despite the fact that her employment was unlawful.

• Case round-up

  Date:

  1 December 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  David Malamatenios is a partner and Krishna Santra and Colin Makin are senior associates at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.

• HR's oral assurance over pay increase did not trump contract

  Date:

  30 September 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an entire agreement clause was effective in precluding reliance on a prior oral assurance given by HR that salary would increase by annual increments subject to satisfactory performance.

• Racial harassment: Supreme Court allows illegal employee's discrimination claim to proceed

  Date:

  5 August 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  The Supreme Court has held that the connection between an employee's immigration offences and the statutory civil wrong of discrimination is insufficiently close to prevent her from making a claim for pre-dismissal racial harassment.

• Restrictive covenants: Poorly drafted unambiguous non-competition covenant was nonetheless binding

  Date:

  1 August 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  In Prophet plc v Huggett [2014] IRLR 797 CA, the Court of Appeal held that an unambiguous non-competition covenant was binding even though, because the drafting was poorly thought through, it was "toothless" and the employee was free to take up employment with a competitor.

• Drafting defect in restrictive covenant: Court of Appeal permits ex-employee to work for competitor

  Date:

  25 July 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  The Court of Appeal has held that an employer was bound by the terms of a restrictive covenant in an employment contract that, on a literal reading, had the unintended result that an ex-employee was not restricted from working for a competitor.

• Case round-up

  Date:

  1 June 2014

  Type:

  Law reports

  Amanda Steadman is a professional support lawyer and Ed Gregory, Rosie Kight and Joanne Magill are associate solicitors at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.

• Terms and conditions: Vary an employee's terms and conditions

  Type:

  Liveflo

  Use this terms and conditions workflow to vary the contractual terms and conditions of one or more of your employees in accordance with good practice and the obligation to consult over the proposed change.

• Employee shareholder

  Type:

  Employment glossary

  Definition from the XpertHR glossary.