EAT rules on justifying compulsory retirement for Oxford’s academic staff
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has upheld two separate employment tribunal decisions about Oxford University’s compulsory retirement age for academic staff, even though they reached opposite conclusions on whether or not it was justified. In the first decision, published in May 2019, an employment tribunal dismissed a claim by Professor Pitcher for direct age discrimination after he was made to retire at 67. But in December 2019 a different employment tribunal ruled that the compulsory retirement of Professor Ewart had been unlawful age discrimination. In Professor Pitcher’s case, there was a ..read more
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We are moving!
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
On Monday 11 October HR law live will be moving over to the Mills & Reeve website alongside nine other blogs to further enhance our ever expanding legal insights section, also containing legal briefings, news, webinars and events. The newly named employment blog will continue to publish the same regular flow of legal expertise, but because it will be hosted on our main website it will be far easier to find further relevant content, whether that’s legal insights or details about Mills & Reeve’s legal offering and services. If you visit this blog after 11 October you will simply be redir ..read more
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Tribunal opens up possibility of new rights for carers of disabled adults
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
An employment tribunal has upheld a claim for indirect disability discrimination brought by a worker caring for a disabled adult. Although not binding on other tribunals, this is believed to be the first time a tribunal has accepted that such a claim can be brought by a worker who is not disabled but who is a carer for a disabled person: in other words a claim for associative indirect discrimination. The claimant in this case was a Senior Lending Manager for Nationwide Building Society. She had a homeworking contract, but in conjunction with a redundancy programme which reduced the overall num ..read more
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Government launches consultation on making flexible working “the default”
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
Yesterday’s consultation on flexible working explores five ways current legislation could be changed to support “genuine two sided flexibility”. It also sets out the Government’s other plans for making flexible working “part of the workplace DNA”. Exploring ways to change current legislation The consultation addresses five elements of the current flexible working regime, which dates from 2014: Qualifying period: Should the current qualifying period of 26 weeks be removed so that it becomes a day one right? Reasons for saying no: Do the eight business reasons for refusing a request need to be ..read more
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Dismissal can be fair despite absence of appeal
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
In a case with highly unusual facts, the EAT has upheld a tribunal’s ruling that the dismissal of an employee director had been fair, despite the failure to provide him with an opportunity to appeal. Gary Moore is the founder and former CEO of a company that manufactures and markets a water-efficient toilet he invented. However, the tribunal concluded that he had a “deep seated inability to let go of the reins” after a replacement CEO was appointed. Following an organisational review by an external specialist and an off-site meeting between the two men which failed to resolve their differences ..read more
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Auxiliary aids and reasonable adjustments: a reminder
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
According to a recent decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the third requirement (relating to auxiliary aids) compromised in the duty to make reasonable adjustments can often be overlooked. The first two requirements, triggered by the application of a provision criterion or practice (PCP) and the physical features of premises respectively, are relatively familiar. However the third requirement is not encountered so frequently, at least in employment case law. This third element of the duty to make adjustments is engaged where a disabled person “would, but for the provision of an auxil ..read more
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Furloughing options a relevant factor when assessing reasonableness of dismissal
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
Two recent employment tribunal decisions have shed light on the way employers are expected to approach redundancy dismissals during the currency of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. While it is for the employer to decide whether or not to use the scheme in a COVID-related redundancy situation, failing to consider the possibility at all may make a resulting dismissal unfair. In the first of these cases, a flying instructor was dismissed in May 2020 when his employer selected him for redundancy rather than keeping him on furlough. The tribunal said that failing to extend the furlough arrange ..read more
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Four unanswered questions about vaccination and care homes
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
Operational guidance for the vaccination of people working or deployed in care homes was published on 4 August. It provides much useful information on the steps care home managers now need to take to implement the regulations, which from 11 November will require most people aged 18 and over entering care homes in England to be vaccinated. However, there remain a number of unanswered questions, including the four outlined below. More information about vaccination in an employment context is set out in our vaccination faqs. Medical exemptions It will be particularly important to understand the m ..read more
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ACAS launches hybrid working guidance
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
ACAS recently published practical guidance for employers on hybrid working. Although released prior to 19 July, the guidance was drafted assuming that “Freedom Day” would go ahead and so remains valid. ACAS’s guidance is a useful reminder of current best practice and reinforces the insights from our recent webinar series on the future of work. For example, the guidance confirms that employers should consult with their workforce regarding hybrid working proposals and that different arrangements could be needed depending on the role and individual needs. The guidance reminds employers that they ..read more
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Government to introduce new duty to prevent harassment in the workplace
HR Law Live Blog
by Charles Pigott
2y ago
Last week the Government published its response to the 2019 consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace. Although primarily prompted by concerns about sexual harassment, the Government has previously said that any new measures introduced will extend to all forms of harassment prohibited by the Equality Act. The key proposals the Government has now confirmed it will be taking forward “as soon as parliamentary time allows” are as follows: A new duty requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment in the workplace. The reintroduction of specific measures to protect ..read more
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