Entries from June 2010

English-Only Language Policies in the Workplace

June 26th, 2010 · No Comments

The US state of Tennessee has recently approved a bill which allows employers to stipulate that their workers must only speak English while at work.
However, can it be considered legitimate for UK employers to enforce and English-only policy in the workplace?
In Tennessee, the new legislation allows employers to demand that their employees speak English at [...]

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Tags: Discrimination · Employee Rights

Retirement and the Commercial Agents Regulations

June 25th, 2010 · No Comments

Under the Commercial Agents Regulations, an agent is entitled to a termination payment when their agency is terminated by the principal. In most cases, if the agent terminates the agreement himself, they will not be entitled to this payment.
However, there are certain circumstances in which this principle does not apply. According to the regulations, an [...]

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Tags: Commercial Agency · Employment Law

Registration for Vetting and Barring Scheme Halted

June 24th, 2010 · No Comments

The Government has recently announced that registration with the vetting and barring scheme will be halted.
This will allow the scheme to be remodelled “back to proportionate, common sense levels”.
Registration under the scheme had been due to commence on July 26, 2010, with compulsory registration becoming a requirement in November for anyone wishing to work in, [...]

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Tags: Employee Rights · Employment Law

Pre-Emptive Unfair Dismissal

June 21st, 2010 · No Comments

The case of Mitie Security (London) v Ibrahim has highlighted the importance of not lodging a claim at an employment tribunal too soon.
Mr Ibrahim, a security guard, was removed from the contract he worked on, and notified by his employer that if they could not find him work at another site, he would be dismissed [...]

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Tags: Employee Rights

The Identity Documents Bill

June 19th, 2010 · No Comments

More details have emerged regarding the Identity Documents Bill proposed by the new Tory Lib-Dem coalition government.
The bill will repeal the Identity Cards Act 2006, bringing the scheme to an end by August 2010. If the bill is made law, all existing identity cards will become invalid on September 3, 2010. An estimated 15,000 people [...]

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Tags: Uncategorized

Ministry of Defence Pregnancy Discrimination

June 18th, 2010 · No Comments

A female officer in the Royal Air Force has been awarded £16,000 by an Employment Tribunal who found that she had been discriminated against due to the fact that she was pregnant.
The officer was stationed in the Falkland Islands when she fell pregnant. She informed the RAF of this development, [...]

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Tags: Employee Rights

Guidance for Employers on World Cup Disruption

June 12th, 2010 · No Comments

Acas, the conciliation service, has released advice for both employees and employers on how to minimise possible disruption caused by the World Cup, which runs for a month from June 11.
The main theme running through its guidance is that workplaces should: “use teamwork to get the best out of each other and, [...]

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Tags: Employee Rights

Should Disciplinary Hearing be Postponed Until After Police Proceedings?

June 11th, 2010 · No Comments

In some cases involving work misconduct, a police investigation and potential criminal prosecution will also ensue. In such cases, should the employer suspend disciplinary proceedings until the investigation is concluded, or would the delay that this will cause render any subsequent dismissal unfair?
In a recent case, Mr Mansfield, a prison officer, was accused of planting [...]

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Tags: Employment Law

Queen’s Speech and its impact on employment law

June 10th, 2010 · No Comments

While the Queen’s Speech of 2010 featured few measures directly relating to employment law, there are a number of peripherally relevant proposals, including:

The Identity Documents Bill - this proposal will scrap both identity cards and the National Identity Register associated with them.
The National Insurance Contributions Bill - this bill will [...]

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Tags: Employment Law

Explanations Must be Investigated in Unfair Dismissal Cases

June 10th, 2010 · No Comments

A recent employment law case has highlighted the fact that, no matter how unlikely an employee’s explanation for their misconduct might seem, it must still be investigated thoroughly in order to avoid a later finding of unfair dismissal.
Mr Dickson had been employed by his local city council for 28 years. His manager received a complaint [...]

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Tags: Employment Law