News

One of the final pieces of legislation introduced by the last coalition government was a prohibition on exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts. This has now become law (from 27 May 2015) within section 153 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Whilst the ban on exclusivity clauses will have an impact on many […]

DVLA has announced that the paper counterpart of the photocard driving licence which displays information regarding the driver’s endorsement/penalty points will no longer be valid from 8th June 2015. This change is expected to affect agencies who supply drivers, as they would need to consider new ways of checking the validity of the drivers’ licences. […]

The decision in Lee v Ashers Naking Co Ltd and others, which has become known as the “gay cake case”, follows a string of cases examining the clash between the right to hold religious beliefs and protection against sexual orientation discrimination.   In this particular case a customer placed an order for a cake requesting […]

In a recent decision the Employment Appeal Tribunal addressed the matter of whether disciplinary processes must be put on hold pending the outcome of grievances raised at the same time as disciplinary matters. For background information, in the case of Jinadu v Docklands Buses, the employee bus driver was dismissed for gross misconduct because she […]

The use of wearable technology in the workplace is becoming increasingly popular and a number of surveys suggest that the use of such technology could provide certain benefits to employees, such as increasing productivity. Some employers consider that the introduction of new wearable technology will enable employees to work hands-free whilst still receiving information relating […]

Many of you will know that the issue of holiday pay and commission is a complicated and seemingly ever –changing area of law.  The recent Employment Tribunal decision in Lock v British Gas, left employers with uncertainty.  In essence the decision meant that commission ought to be included in holiday pay, as long as it […]

The Adecco tax case has been listed for hearing between 11 and 15 May 2015 at the first tier Tax Tribunal. This case takes forward similar arguments to those raised in the Reed case which challenged HMRC’s position that VAT was due on all payments received by an employment business from its clients/hirers. Following the […]

Recent changes to driving legislation are a reminder that employers should have policies in place to address drink-driving and drug-driving laws,and provisions which deal with the disciplinary procedure which should be followed if an employee commits a driving offence.  From 2nd March 2015 it is a criminal offence to drive (or attempt to drive) a […]

The government announced before the dissolution of parliament for the general election, that it would increase the threshold for bringing a bankruptcy petition from £750 to £5,000. This means that if a person’s liabilities are less than £5,000, it would not be possible to recover the sums owned by that individual by the way of […]

The Acas helpline is being expanded so that its advisers will be able to answer queries previously dealt with by other agencies.  From 1st April 2015 the helpline has been able to answer queries on the following topics: the national minimum wage; working for an employment agency; working hours, rest breaks and holidays; agricultural workers […]

This question was revisited by the Court of Appeal in Smith v Carillion. This issue arises when a worker is supplied by an employment business and brings a claim that he or she is an employee of the client. The Appellant in Smith worked in the construction industry for over 20 years. He was supplied […]

“Whistleblowing” is a term used to identify situations in which an employee reports a suspected wrongdoing at the workplace, such as health and safety concerns. As a result of this, the employee makes a “protected disclosure” as defined under the relevant whistleblowing legislation (the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform […]

The employment tribunal has delivered the long anticipated decision on calculating holiday pay in Lock v British Gas.   Mr Lock was a sales consultant whose salary included a basic element and commission.  Around 60% of his income was made up of commission, paid in arrears and calculated on the number of sales achieved by […]

George Osbourne announced in the 2015 Budget that from 6th April 2015 National Insurance Contributions for employees under the age of 21 will be abolished, with the exception of those earning more than £42,285 a year. It is estimated that employers will save £500 per year for an employee under the age of 21 who […]