An employer discriminated against an engineer when it dismissed him because he refused to accept a reduced salary after becoming disabled. That was the decision of the Employment Tribunal in the case of a man employed as an engineer maintaining teller machines. He became disabled as a result of back problems. He was unable to
The government says it will continue with the living wage and the National Minimum Wage despite lobbying from leading trade groups. The announcement follows reports that 16 trade bodies had written to Prime Minister Theresa May asking her to reconsider the policy in the face of a potential economic slowdown following the Brexit vote. A
The government is providing a new fund to help small businesses grow and develop. The Enterprise Capital Fund is backed by the British Business Bank and has a total investment capacity of £40m. Active Private Equity, which specialises in helping consumer-focused businesses grow their brands and build the infrastructure needed to scale up successfully, will
An aviation company has won a breach of contract dispute with a bank over a multi-million pound deal to buy an aircraft. The court heard that the company had sought equity investment to finance the purchase and so entered into negotiations with senior bank staff. A commitment letter and a management agreement were drafted and
The government has announced measures to strengthen the Prompt Payment Code and reduce the financial pressure on businesses. The measures are outlined in a letter to signatories of the code from Small Business Minister Margot James, and Philip King, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. These are some of the key points:
The director of a laundry business has been disqualified for six years for allowing his company to employ illegal workers. Mr Montaz Ali Azad ran Eurolinen UK Ltd, which traded as an industrial laundry in Greater Manchester. He was disqualified following an investigation by the Insolvency Service. Investigators found that he failed to ensure that
A BBC journalist has been awarded more than £50,000 compensation after being unfairly dismissed following his failure to report the birth of Prince George. Chandana Keerthi Bandara worked as a producer providing online news about Sri Lanka. On 23 July 2013, he decided not to publish an article about the prince’s birth and focused instead
In multi-cultural society employers increasingly face problems arising from their employees’ religious beliefs; both relating to the employee’s wish to manifest their belief and arising from conflicts between the employee and others of different beliefs or no belief at all. ACAS publishes guidance for employers suggesting good practice when dealing with such matters as recruitment,
Women dent their promotion chances when they become mothers and that affects their future earning power, according to new research. Time spent on maternity leave and reducing hours once they return to work means they gain less experience, which also holds them back and pushes down their pay rates. The research by the Institute for
Citizens Advice has reported a 58% rise in the number of women experiencing employment problems related to maternity leave. Over the last 12 months, the number of mothers seeking advice about their rights have risen from 2,099 to 3,307. The most common problems women report are: Redundancy after they tell their employer they are pregnant