The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that Tribunals must consider all claims raised by a claimant and should not rely solely on an agreed list of issues. What were the facts of this case? In Z v Y [2024], the claimant worked for a fire and rescue service as a risk and statistical data advisor. The claimant was being bullied at work which took a toll on her health and resulted in a prolonged period of sick leave. Whilst the claimant was on sick leave, no reasonable adjustments were made and the claimant was not allowed to return to her role. She was instead offered alternative employm ..read more

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has confirmed that it intends to update its technical guidance to reflect the changes that will be introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023. What are the changes? The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 is due to come into force on 26 October 2024. The Act will amend the Equality Act 2010 to introduce a duty for all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the course of their employment. If an employment tribunal upholds a claim of sexual har ..read more

In a recent case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that even a minor component of the reason for treatment can lead to a claim for discrimination arising from disability. What were the facts of the case? In the case of Bodis v Lindfield Christian Care Home, the claimant suffered from depression and anxiety. She was the subject of an investigation following several incidents at work. Following a disciplinary hearing the claimant was dismissed. During the disciplinary investigation the claimant gave short and evasive answers to questions. This was due to her disability. The ma ..read more

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have issued a call for evidence to explore recently announced proposals to reform the fit note process. Proposal The Government recently announced its proposal to reform the fit note process as part of its Back to Work Plan for welfare reforms. In particular, the Government wishes to change the way fit notes are issued. If the Government's proposals are confirmed, fit notes would no longer be issued by GPs. Instead they would be issued by specialist work and health professionals who would assess the person's heal ..read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that in whistleblowing detriment cases, the Tribunal should not look behind the motive of the decision-maker in order to consider whether a third party was manipulating the situation. Whistleblowing protection Whistleblowers are protected from detriment and dismissal as a result of having blown the whistle. The two types of statutory protection are found under sections 47B and 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 respectively. The fact that protection against detriment and dismissal derive from different parts of the Act means that the two t ..read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has considered how to recover a 'series of deductions' for holiday pay purposes, in light of last year's Supreme Court judgment in the case of Agnew. Background It is possible to bring a claim for unpaid holiday as an unlawful deductions from wages claim under the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Act). The Act permits claimants to claim for a "series of deductions". In other words, claimants can link a series of underpayments into one claim. The claim must be brought within three months of the last deduction in the series and up to two years' worth of underpayme ..read more

Economic, demographic and political headwinds are presenting independent schools with a financial challenge to operate efficiently and take good commercial decisions to strengthen their positions. It is rare, but not unheard of, for charity owned schools to pay any governors, and the suggestion that a charity may want to pay some or all of their governors who at present act as unpaid charity trustees appears to run contrary to the drive for financial efficiency. However, schools are telling us that they are finding it difficult to recruit suitably experienced and commercially minded charity t ..read more

A number of new and enhanced employment law rights took effect on 6 April 2024. The changes include the new right to unpaid carer's leave, enhanced redundancy protection for family leave returners, and changes to the flexible working regime. Holiday Pay Guidance The new Holiday Pay regulations which amend the Working Time Regulations come in to place for holiday years falling after 1 April 2024. These regulations permit the pro-rating of statutory holiday entitlement for casual/irregular hour workers and those who work for only part of the year. Following feedback the government has now revise ..read more

If done well, the outsourcing of catering provision allows schools to benefit from expertly-run catering facilities, delivering the highest standards of produce and service. By working with catering providers, schools are often able to share in the financial and operational efficiencies that come from providing services of this nature at scale. However, if the arrangements are not carefully thought through, you can find yourself locked into contracts which represent poor value, and which potentially expose you to significant risks. Based on our experience working with schools in setting up ne ..read more

The DfE published guidance in February 2024 to help schools develop and implement policies to prohibit mobile phone use, along with other similar smart technologies, as part of a plan to "minimise disruption and improve behaviour in classrooms". The guidance is non-statutory and is not prescriptive in its recommendations. Schools are encouraged to develop policies that suit their individual contexts/circumstances. Different approaches could be adopted for different groups of students, for example some schools may wish to limit (rather than prohibit) use of devices by sixth-form students to th ..read more