Welcome to March’s edition of our employment law newsletter, keeping you up to date with changes in employment law, and informing you of recent case law developments.

Unfair dismissal Qualifying Period

A draft Order relating to the increase of the unfair dismissal qualifying period from one year to two years was published in February, which will apply to employees employed on or after 6th April 2012.  Further details will follow once this Order has been finalised.  The changes form part of the government’s initiative to reform employment law announced in Autumn 2011.

Tribunal Deposits

On 15th February 2012, the Statutory Instrument increasing Tribunal deposits came into force, with the increase to be applicable from 6th April 2012.  The deposit which a Tribunal can order to be paid by a party to Tribunal proceedings will be increased from £500 to £1,000.  In cases where an employment judge considers that all or part of claim (or a response) has little reasonable prospects of success, a party can be ordered to pay a deposit in order to take further part in the proceedings.

CASE LAW DEVELOPMENTS IN FEBRUARY 2012

Redundancy Selection

In Capita Hartshead Ltd v Byard, the EAT has held that a redundancy dismissal was unfair where a pool of one was used by an employer, when the pool should have been extended to include other actuaries who did similar work to the individual who was dismissed.  The Respondent argued that there was a risk that clients would be lost if their actuary was changed, but this was held by the Tribunal to be only a ‘slight’ risk.

TUPE – Organised Grouping of Employees?

The EAT has held that there was no service provision change which would constitute a TUPE transfer when a contract was outsourced from one contractor to another, when the employees spent the majority of their time working for a client, but were organised by their shifts, and were not assigned to that particular client.  Accordingly, they did not constitute an ‘organised grouping of employees’.  (Eddie Stobart Limited v Moreman and others).

Suspension of Employees

In Crawford v Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, the Tribunal reminded employers that referring an allegation of gross misconduct to the police should not be a knee-jerk reaction, as this risks being a breach of the duty of trust and confidence.  An employer should not subject employees to this burden without careful consideration and a reasonable belief that the conduct alleged is criminal in nature.  The allegation here related to care given to a patient.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination

The Court of Appeal has held that businesses must be run in accordance with the law, which includes an obligation not to discriminate against potential customers on the basis of their sexual orientation.  In this case, Christian hotel owners discriminated against civil partners by refusing to allow them to share a double bed – the hotel operated a strict policy whereby unmarried couples were unable to stay in double bedrooms.

If you require any further clarification in relation to the above developments, or if you need any other assistance then please do not hesitate to contact our team of specialist employment solicitors on 0161 832 3304:

Shiva Shadi                      Partner

Anna Bunting                   Partner

Claire Reddington            Associate

 

Testimonials

Read what our clients have to say...

View All

Excellent experience start to finish – always very responsive to any queries and the turnaround on the property I was buying was very quick, even in the busy time leading up to stamp duty deadline. Jenny was always very helpful and went above and beyond to close on a short timescale.

Ben Armitage

“Very approachable, practical solutions to problems, but most of all very responsive which I personally think is very important because if you need help, you need it quickly, or at least to know someone is looking at it for you”.

Joanne Rowe, Finance Director, Greater Manchester Chamber

“Always able to contact, very approachable, friendly and professional”

Nives Feely, JAM Recruitment

“I believe I have been able to establish a professional working relationship with everyone I have come into contact. Importantly, I sense the relationships which have been established give me the confidence that I can make contact with Davis Blank Furniss at any time and on any matter. I would also like to express my thanks to the very impressive “gatekeepers” who work in reception, not only for making me very welcome, but also for their professionalism”

Bill Pryke, CEO, Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors

“Thank you for your efficient and friendly help throughout this process. We have had it easy but your approach has been part of that”.

Robert Amsbury (Conveyancing Client)

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you personally for the ongoing support and assistance the firm has offered to our parents over the years. I hope also that we may be able to call on you if necessary in the future.”

Valerie Fisher (Probate Client)

“Jo always provides great service, understands our needs and delivers on her promises. Our needs are relatively simple but the complexity arises out of the volume of work and short time frames, Jo always delivers.”

Peter Fernandez, Corporate Director at Royal Bank of Scotland

“A big thank you to all who dealt with my wife’s claim… We would not hesitate to recommend Davis Blank Furniss to anyone that may be in a situation like we have been…”

Anon (Personal Injury client)

“Before putting my case in Kirsty (Morbey)’s capable hands I’ve met a couple of other solicitors. None of them listen to me as intently as Kirsty and showed me as much empathy and understanding as she did. Simultaneously she was able to look at my case from legal perspective, explain all the options and follow each of our meetings with written summary of the discussed matters (in timely manner). Her advice was invaluable and led me to successfully ending the case matter (hopeful for good). I’m forever grateful for he work and would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for reliable, knowledgeable and committed solicitor”.

Anon (Family client)
5 star service

Our Manchester office is rated 5 stars on Google