Employment Law News
More than 6,000 Tesco staff plan strikes ahead of Christmas
Thousands of Tesco staff have rejected a 4 percent pay rise and plan to strike next week unless a deal is reached. The unions Usdaw and Unite say both their members - more than 6,000 in total - who are mainly distribution staff and HGV drivers will be taking part in...
US boss fires 900 workers on the same Zoom call
A US mortgage firm is being criticised after the boss fired 900 staff - all on the same Zoom call. That’s around 15 percent of the Better.com's workers. In its promotional material, the mortgage company says it wants to make the mortgage process better for consumers,...
Clarks strike ends after two months
A two month strike between Clarks and 100 of its workers has ended, after coming to an agreement. The shoe store's head office is based in Street in Somerset. Staff downed tools on October 4th, and accused Clarks of planning to reduce their wages to £9.50 an hour,...
TUC: “Millions are in jobs that don’t put food on the table”
The Living Wage Foundation (LWF) is calling on its members to raise hourly wages by 40p within the next six months. Its Real Living Wage has gone up to £9.90 across the country, and to £11.05 in London. This is an hourly pay rate that is set independently and updated...
Tesco worker receives £50,000 payout after being “held hostage” by boss
Toby King, a former employee at Tesco, has been awarded £48,000 by an employment tribunal after being trapped in a room by his female boss. A former Tesco worker has been classed as a victim of sex discrimination by an employment tribunal in Watford. In an absence...
Clarks accused of covering strike using agency workers
The union Community has stated they are investigating "wrongdoing" after Clarks allegedly utilised agency workers to cover a strike. Clarks, a shoe retailer, has come under fire after allegedly covering a strike using agency workers. Staff in a Clarks warehouse in...
EY partner retains job after making sexual advances at trainee
An EY Partner has retained his position at the Big Four company after a disciplinary hearing ruled he had acted in an "obscene and aggressive manner". Neil Hutt, who has been working at the firm for 16 years, was found to have made lewd comments towards a trainee...
Whistleblower reporting falls to lowest level in four years
The number of whistleblowers reporting their companies for violating National Minimum Wage laws has dropped to its lowest level in four years. According to new research released by law firm Pinsent Masons, whistleblowing reports of National Minimum Wage violations...
Calls for regulations on employers who monitor WFH staff
The number of employers monitoring staff at home is going up, according to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). One in three workers (32 percent) are now being monitored at work - a rise from just a quarter (24 percent) in April, according to the union...
Gig economy workforce triples in last five years
The number of people working for gig economy platforms in England and Wales has almost tripled over the last five years, leading to concerns about pay and working conditions for this growing number of staff. New research published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC)...
Employment Law Analysis
Darren Hockley: This is how organisations tackle the gender pay gap
This year, Equal Pay Day fell on 18th November 2021, two days earlier than last year – but what does this really mean, asks Darren Hockley, Managing Director of DeltaNet International. It highlights the day in the year where women effectively, on average, stop earning...
Kimberley Barrett-St.Vall: Mandatory vaccinations – the employment challenge beyond carers
From 11th November 2021, anyone who works inside a Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care home, which provide accommodation and nursing or personal care, in England must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they are medically exempt. This step that has...
Jenna Ide: Government consultation on flexible working
The government’s current consultation entitled “Making flexible working the default” (due to close on 1 December) sets out five proposals for reshaping the existing regulatory framework. The intention is to better support not only employees to start the conversation...
Zahra Mahmood: Sexual harassment claims and NDAs in the era of Me Too
As specialist employment lawyers, it is fair to say we have seen our fair share of truly shocking sexual harassment cases land on our desks. There is much case law on sexual harassment and sex discrimination and one of the most notable sexual harassment cases which...
Patrick Byrne: Redundancy and the end of the furlough scheme
Redundancy furlough scheme considerations for employers The clock on the Government's furlough scheme is ticking. The scheme, which has been a crucial lifeline to millions of businesses up and down the country during the pandemic, is now entering its final stages. The...
Laura Darnley: Visa solutions for the current candidate shortage
In July, the government released its 'UK Innovation Strategy', setting out the plans to make the UK a world-leader in technology, innovation and research by 2035. Crucially, the plan to situate tech, innovation and research at the centre of the UK’s economy will...
Nick Le Riche: Labour’s plans to create a single status of “worker”
Introduction At the end of last month, Labour announced proposals to extend a number of key employment rights and protections, such as statutory sick pay, national minimum wage entitlement, holiday pay, paid parental leave and protection from unfair dismissal to all...
Emma Clark: Employers need to wake up to the menopause
By next year, it is estimated that one in six of the British workforce will be women over the age of 50. These women will (if they have not already) go through the menopause at an average age of 51. The pre-menopause stage called peri-menopausal or transition occurs...
Andrew Secker: Can employers force staff back to the office post-COVID?
Many of us have been working from home (in whole or in part) since the UK’s first national lockdown in March 2020. Whilst the success and productivity of home working has rightly (and perhaps belatedly) removed some taboos about remote working, the longer term...
Suzanne Hurndall: Building a Right to Disconnect policy into your culture
Trade unions have been heavily criticising the Government for back peddling on their promise for better worker rights following the absence in the recent Queen’s speech of a long-awaited Employment Bill and, included within this, a Right to Disconnect clause. The call...
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