Employment

Zero-hour contracts and casualised employment are damaging family life

New report from the Working Families free legal advice service helpline also highlights that in the months immediately following the introduction of fees for employment tribunals, claims for unfair dismissal fell by 65 per cent, and claims for sex or pregnancy discrimination fell by 80 per cent.

Way v Spectrum Property Care Ltd

[2015] EWCA Civ 381

Employment case law round up

Black and Asian workers more likely to be in low-paid and insecure jobs

New report form the TUC - Living on the Margins - shows that the number of black and Asian workers in low-paid jobs increased by 12.7 per cent between 2011 and 2014 compared to a rise of 1.8 per cent rise for white workers, and the number of black and Asian employees doing agency jobs increased by 38 per cent compared to a 16 per cent rise for white workers over the same period.

Employment related measures in the Conservative Party Manifesto 2015

Key pledges include give working parents of three and four year-olds 30 hours of free childcare a week.

Employment case law round up

Shared parental leave regulations come into force

Department of Business Innovation and Skills highlights that eligible couples whose child is due on or after 5 April 2015 can share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay in the first year of their child’s life.

Employment case law round up

Good workplace practices can spot and resolve mental health issues, says TUC

New report finds that many employers do not deal with mental health issues and that this may lead to many people losing their job and failing to find new work as a result of the stigma associated with mental health issues.

Workers struggling at ‘sharp end’ of insecure jobs, says Citizens Advice

New report finds that irregular hours from flexible work and zero hour contracts leave some workers anxiously facing eviction, afraid to speak out about their employment rights for fear of losing their work, or with debts piling up.

Employment case law round up

Redundancy Payments (Continuity of Employment in Local Government) Regulations

New regulations that modify certain provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 concerning redundancy payments to individuals employed by local authorities or certain other bodies, to provide that an individual’s service with a succession of employers is treated as continuous for the purpose of determining issues relating to redundancy payments.

43 per cent of calls to the Acas Helpline relate to problems around ‘contracts’

Acas Helpline Evaluation report finds that a further 42 per cent of calls concern 'discipline, dismissal and grievance'.

Number of employment tribunal cases lodged in Scotland has fallen by 81 per cent

New report from Citizens Advice Scotland finds that fees are deterring clients from fighting for their rights meaning rogue bosses are more likely to 'get away with it'.

Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015

New statutory rule increases, from 22nd March 2015, the limits applying to certain awards of industrial tribunals, the Fair Employment Tribunal or Labour Relations Agency statutory arbitration, and other amounts payable under employment legislation, as specified in the Schedule to the Order.

Seven in ten carers in employment feel isolated at work, says Carer’s UK

New report finds that employers, health and social care services, central, national and local government and local voluntary and charity organisations all have a role to play in improving public understanding of caring and disability and raise awareness of carers in the workplace.

Government announces new ‘Specialist Employability Support’ programme

Programme, that will go live on 1 September 2015, will target those disabled people who need the most support to enter work or undertake work-related courses and activities.