Worker was discriminated against after revealing mental ill-health
January 11th 2024A worker whose contract was cancelled within hours of her revealing her mental ill-health was discriminated against on the grounds of disability. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. That was the ruling of the Employment Tribunal in the case of Ms Zalejska and Cameo Consultancy (Recruitment) Limited. Ms Zalejska was appointed to a 12-week assignment at Principal Medical, based at Banbury Cross Health Centre. The…
National Living Wage to rise by more than a pound an hour
December 7th 2023The National Living Wage is to rise by £1.02 an hour from next April, increasing the average worker’s pay by £1,800 a year. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR provides an update. The boost from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour is the biggest increase in the National Living Wage in more than a decade. Eligibility for the new rate will also be extended by reducing the age threshold…
Employer failed to make reasonable adjustments for disabled worker
October 23rd 2023The Employment Tribunal has ruled that an employer discriminated against a disabled worker by failing to make reasonable adjustments for him. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. The case involved Mr R Poniatowski who worked as a quality control technologist for Wealmoor Limited between 2017 and 2020. In May 2019, he was signed off because of back pain and depression. He was absent for nine…
New law gives workers more control over working patterns
October 12th 2023A new law is set to give millions of workers more control over their working hours and employment patterns. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR provides an update. The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill, which received the Royal Assent in September, is designed to help people on atypical contracts – including those on zero hours contracts. It introduces a right for workers to request a more predictable…
WH Smith, M&S and Argos named for not paying staff minimum wage
July 25th 2023High Street retail giants WH Smith, M&S and Argos are among more than 200 employers named by the government for failing to pay their lowest paid staff the minimum wage. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR provides an update. The 202 employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million in a clear breach of National Minimum Wage (NMW) law, leaving around 63,000 workers…
Technologist was victimised in ‘naming and shaming’ by manager
June 29th 2023A technologist has won his victimisation claim after being ‘named and shamed’ by his line manager without a proper investigation. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. The case involved Mr N Chowdhury, who had been a senior critical care technologist at Barts Health NHS Trust since 2001. In 2021, Chowdhury was involved in a confrontation with a colleague, Mr Patelca, who complained that Chowdhury had…
Employee unfairly dismissed due to incorrect redundancy procedures
June 26th 2023The Employment Tribunal has ruled that an employee was unfairly dismissed in what amounted to a fait accompli during an inadequate redundancy consultation. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR reports on this recent case. The case involved Mrs R Khamar, who was made redundant by PIE Pharma after 22 years of service. PIE Pharma said it had to make redundancies in the packaging department because it was adversely…
Animal keeper unfairly dismissed despite breaking company rules
June 23rd 2023A former animal keeper has won a claim of unfair dismissal even though she broke company safety rules. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. Morna Gunn was employed at Auchingarrich Wildlife Centre, which houses a variety of domestic and wild animals such as short claw otters and Scottish wildcats that could pose a risk to visitors. Control measures were in place in the park, including…
Government announces employment law changes to boost economy
June 13th 2023The government has unveiled a series of employment law reforms aimed at boosting the economy and reducing costs for businesses. Joanne Stronach Director and Head of Employment & HR provides an update. The measures include changes to the Working Time Regulations 1998, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), and non-compete clauses. The measures are set out in the policy paper ‘Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy’, published by…
Safety controller who nearly caused rail accident ‘unfairly dismissed’
June 1st 2023A team leader with controller of site safety status who nearly caused a rail accident was unfairly dismissed because the delay in dealing with his case took too long and was “wholly unreasonable”. Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in a case involving Network Rail Infrastructure (NRI) and Mr C Boxall. Boxall, who worked as a lubrication…
