Big changes are underway for the law on sexual harassment. On 26 October 2024, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act) Act 2023 comes into force, introducing a new positive duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. There are two potential consequences for those who break the law:… [Read More]

Where an employee is struggling to maintain regular attendance in their role owing to genuine sickness issues, a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case held that employers should be looking at the option of redeployment ‘as a matter of course’ before dismissing. Bugden v Royal Mail In Bugden v Royal Mail , an employee had been off… [Read More]

The statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement came into force on 18th July 2024. There is no stand-alone claim for breach of the Code, however, it must be taken into account by employment tribunals in relevant cases, including unfair dismissal. It gives tribunals the ability to uplift compensation in unfair dismissal cases by… [Read More]

A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) clarified that the three-month time limit for making claims about unlawful deductions from wages starts from the date the deduction occurred, not the date employment ended. Wharton v Sheehan Haulage & Plant Hire In the case of Wharton v Sheehan Haulage & Plant Hire an employee argued that wages… [Read More]

Part-time workers in the UK have protection from discrimination in the form of the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000. Part-time workers must receive the same treatment as full-time workers, including pay rates, benefits, and leave entitlements, unless there is a justified reason for a difference. It is illegal to treat part-time… [Read More]