The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has released new data that shows a rise in the headline rate of unemployment coupled with a fall in employment.
The key findings of the released data include:

The headline unemployment rate (based on the International Labour Organisation’s definition) stood at 8% between [...]

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A recent preliminary hearing at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the case of Mr A Power v Greater Manchester Police Authority resulted in an interesting conclusion.
The Tribunal determined that the right to a fair trial is not compromised when an employer accused of discrimination cannot produce the decision maker responsible for the alleged discrimination [...]

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A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case has highlighted the fact that tribunals must not substitute its own judgement for that of the employer when determining whether a dismissal is unfair or not.
Instead, they must determine if the employer acted within a band of “reasonable responses”.
This particular case concerned an administrative worker at a community [...]

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In the case of Dogherty v Chairman and Governors of Amwell School, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) made a ruling on the use of a secret recording as evidence in an employment law case.
Mrs Dogherty worked as a teaching assistant for Amwell School. Accusations were made against her regarding her treatment of pupils at the [...]

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In an interesting turn of events, law firm DLA Piper has been cleared of sexual harassment and unfair dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy claims made by former partner Sarah Sweeney.
Ms Sweeney was dismissed from the firm shortly after informing her employers that she was pregnant. In her evidence to the tribunal, she claimed that [...]

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In an interesting new development, details of the first ever employment law case involving genetic discrimination have been made public in the US.
The case has been brought under the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act 2008 (GINA), which was passed by the US Senate in May 2008 and came into force in November 2009. The Act is [...]

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The High Court has sentenced a dismissed employee to three months in prison for contempt of court after he admitted breaking Financial Services Authority (FSA) rules by personal account trading; forging a letter ostensibly from his brokers; destroying evidence on his computer; and not complying with a search and seizure order. [...]

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Following a number of high profile employment tribunal cases involving Christian employees, the Court of Appeal has responded to concerns over the rights of Christians in the workplace.
Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, made a statement in support of an appeal by Gary McFarlane, a Christian counsellor who was dismissed [...]

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The recent case of Homer v West Yorkshire Police has further qualified what constitutes age discrimination in employment law cases.
Mr Homer was a legal adviser with the police national legal database, who had 30 years of experience as a serving police officer. At the age of 61, he applied for promotion to a higher pay grade.
His application [...]

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The recent eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull and the subsequent travel disruption caused by the millions of tons of volcanic ash it released into the atmosphere has highlighted a difficult employment law situation.
Many thousands of employees were left stranded abroad as a result of the closure of UK airspace following the volcano’s eruption, and [...]

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