According to a recent labour market outlook survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in conjunction with consultants KPMG, while the UK job market continues to contract, the rate at which it is shrinking has slowed significantly, with huge differences between the public and private sectors.
Using a measurement known as the [...]

[Read more →]

According to research recently released by the Forum of Private Business (FPB), small businesses are currently spending £12 billion a year on complying with various statutory regulations.
The FPB surveyed its members in an attempt to ascertain the impact that compliance has on small businesses. Through their research, they found that employers in small to medium-sized [...]

[Read more →]

A partnership is established whenever two or more people set up in business together with the intention of sharing profits and losses and do not form either a limited company or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). Even if they do not intend to form a partnership, if they enter into this type of relationship a [...]

[Read more →]

The recent case of Alexis v Newman London Borough Council has highlighted an important issue in cases concerning vicarious liability.
In the case, Miss Alexis, a teacher employed by Newman London Borough Council, had her bottle of water spiked with whiteboard cleaning fluid by a pupil.
The spiking incident occurred when Miss Alexis was away from the [...]

[Read more →]

Section 33 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 is a little known and seldom used provision that the courts can use to prohibit individuals from making any further applications to any Employment Tribunal.
Known as a Restriction of Proceedings Order, this power is only ever brought to bear where an Employment Tribunal is certain that an [...]

[Read more →]

A recent survey by Powerchex, a leading pre-employment screening service for the financial services industry, has revealed that an alarming percentage of CVs may not be all that they seem.
The survey identified trends in the attempts of candidates for jobs in the financial sector to deceive potential employers by lying or embellishing the truth on [...]

[Read more →]

The recent case of Islam Channel v Ridley has illustrated how compensation is calculated in cases of unfair dismissal.
After Ms Ridley had been unfairly dismissed by Islam Channel, she managed to obtain employment elsewhere at a rate of pay that was initially substantially higher than it had been in her former position. However, due to [...]

[Read more →]

The recent case of Smith v Oxfordshire Learning Disability NHS Trust has provided some clarification on the legal situation regarding allowances and the National Minimum Wage (NMW) Regulations.
Where allowances are not consolidated into basic pay, they are not to be included in NMW calculations. This could include allowances for:

Being on-call.
Working unsocial hours.
Performing special duties.

The case [...]

[Read more →]

Even in situations where an employee admits their guilt when faced with a charge of gross misconduct, an investigation may still be necessary to avoid claims of unfair dismissal, as a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case has shown.
In the case of Compass Group v Okoro, Ms Okoro had been employed as an assistant catering [...]

[Read more →]

Acas has published its latest annual report which reveals the full extent of the current recession and the pressure it has placed on relationships between employers and employees.
The report clearly shows that the economic downturn has had a huge effect on employment relations. Acas took part in over 78,000 conciliation cases last year, very nearly [...]

[Read more →]