News & insights
Harpur Trust v Brazel – plot twist as government consultation begins to address anomalies arising from the judgment
Schools and academies are aware of the widely published judgment of Harpur Trust v Brazel. Last year the supreme court reached its final decision to address the correct legal interpretation of how holiday entitlement must be calculated for permanent part-year and irregular hours workers. Schools and academies typically use several atypical worker contracts due to […]
Read MoreStatutory minimum wage rates and statutory benefits
Statutory minimum wage rates The government has accepted in full the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission and announced the rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) to apply from 1 April 2023. Rate from April 2022 Rate from April 2023 Annual increase Annual increase National living wage (over 22) £9.50 […]
Read MoreNew Health and Safety Executive (HSE) talking toolkit
The HSE has issued helpful guidance to assist employers support workers with long-term health conditions and disabilities. It includes questions to help employers have conversations with workers, focusing on the following seven principles: Create a supportive and enabling workplace. Take an inclusive approach to workplace health. Understand the work barriers that impact on workers. Make […]
Read MoreTeacher awarded over £460,000 in racial discrimination and unfair dismissal case
In Mrs C Burton-York v Diocese of Westminster Academy Trust, the employment tribunal (ET) considered whether Mrs Burton-York, a black Afro-Caribbean teacher, had been racially discriminated against, as well as unfairly dismissed. Mrs Burton-York started working as a teacher of geography at Douay Martyrs School in 2004. In April 2012, the school joined the Diocese of […]
Read MoreNFER data dashboard – teacher recruitment and retention
Recent figures show that the government has missed its target for recruitment of secondary school teachers this year – 41% below target. Also, for the first time, the recruitment of trainee primary teachers is 7% below target. It is against this background of trainee teacher shortage that a data dashboard has been created by NFER […]
Read MoreMaking flexible working the default
In 2003 legislation was introduced giving employed parents and certain carers the right to request flexible working after 26 weeks continuous service. This right was extended to all employees in 2014, again for those with 26 weeks of continuous service. In 2019, as part of the manifesto, the Conservative Party outlined a commitment to ‘encourage flexible working […]
Read MoreMusic peris and assessing employment status
In Mr Alex Kitchener v Cranleigh School, the employment tribunal (ET) considered whether Mr Kitchener, a music peri, was an employee within the definition of s230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Mr Kitchener is a music teacher who started working at Cranleigh School, a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Surrey. On 24 […]
Read MoreWhen should a document be disclosed during an investigation?
In University of Dundee v Mr Prasun Chakraborty, the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) considered whether an earlier version of a grievance investigation report was disclosable during tribunal proceedings. Mr Chakraborty started employment with the university on 28 January 2013 as a post-doctoral research assistant. Grievance raised On 10 November 2021, he sent an email to representatives of the university […]
Read MoreCan settlement agreements settle ‘future’ unknown claims?
No – according to the Scottish employment appeal tribunal (EAT) in the recent case of Bathgate v Technip UK Ltd. Mr Bathgate was a seafarer who worked aboard a ship called Deep Blue as a chief officer until June 2016. From June 2016, and until his voluntary redundancy in January 2017, he worked in a variety of onshore […]
Read MoreWhen should consultation take place in a redundancy situation?
In Mrs S Mogane v Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) considered whether the employment tribunal (ET) had overlooked aspects of the consultation process in its deliberations. Background Mrs Mogane, a band 6 nurse, along with another band 6 nurse, had been employed by the trust on fixed term contracts. […]
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