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
The government has published its longest ever list naming and shaming employers who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The list names 197 companies across a range of sectors including football clubs, hotels, care homes and hairdressers. Between them they owed their employees £465,291 in arrears because of longstanding underpayment of wages.
Employers may wish to reconsider their strategies for avoiding workplace bullying and abuse following the referendum vote to leave the EU. There have several examples across the country of workers being subjected to name calling and harassment because of the way they voted, and there have been separate incidents of ethnic minorities being abused for
One of the EU’s leading law officials has found in favour of a woman who was sacked for wearing an Islamic headscarf at work. The findings of an EU Advocate General are not binding on the European Court of Justice (ECJ), although they are usually accepted. The case involved a French design engineer who wore
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has confirmed that an employee who is unable to take annual leave because of sickness can carry over the entitlement to a later date. The case involved a teacher in Poland who was convalescing from an illness and unable to take her annual leave. When she later came to
A doctor has won her appeal against being dismissed at a disciplinary hearing that she was unable to attend. The case involved a doctor who had been suspended from clinical practice over performance and safety concerns. The written terms of her suspension stated that she could not work as a doctor for any other NHS
Part-time judges have won their claim that they were treated less favourably than their full-time colleagues. The case involved judges employed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the property chamber of the First Tier Tribunal. They claimed they were treated less favourably than full-time judges because their fees didn’t fully reflect the time spent
The retailer Asda has failed in its attempt to force 7,000 women to pursue equal pay claims in the High Court instead of at an employment tribunal. The case involved claims by more than 7,000 Asda employees, overwhelmingly women, working in its stores across the UK. They claimed equal pay with staff, mainly men, employed
MPs have called for a substantial reduction in employment tribunal fees to ensure access to justice in the workplace. The House of Commons Justice Committee says the introduction of issue fees and hearing fees for claimants in July 2013 has led to a drop of almost 70% in the number of cases brought. The number
A company has won its appeal against a TUPE transfer ruling following the awarding of a contract with the Ministry of Defence. The case involved a company called Millbrook Furnishing Ltd, which renovated wood and metal furniture for the MoD between 2003 and 2008. It did so as a sub-contractor of another business called Amaryllis.