The ban on exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts has now come into force. It means that employees can no longer be tied to a company that may not have any work to offer them. The ban took effect on 26 May as part of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The measure was
The new system of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allowing mothers and fathers to share 52 weeks’ leave came into effect on 5 April 2015. Under the SPL scheme, mothers are still required to take two weeks’ compulsory leave immediately after the birth, but the other 50 weeks can be shared between both parents. The benefits
A woman who said she suffered a mental breakdown after being subjected to degrading sexual harassment at work has been awarded £3.2m compensation. Svetlana Lokhova earned £750,000 a year as an equity saleswoman with Sberbank CIB in London. She said that for four years between 2008 and 2012 she was systematically abused by male colleagues
A woman on a zero-hours contract has won her claim of sexual harassment by her line manager despite initially being reluctant to bring a claim for fear of losing her job. The 22-year-old woman worked in the hotel industry. She became alarmed when her manager started touching her and asking about her sex life. However,
Many small businesses are unsure about how to deal with shared parental leave (SPL) according to a survey reported in The Times newspaper. Half of the 400 firms polled said they didn’t understand the legislation and how it would work. A further 17% said they were worried about the effect the new rights would have
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled against the employees and the union involved in the Woolworths redundancy case. It’s good news for employers because it could reduce the time they have to spend negotiating collective redundancies in the future. The case brought into focus the issue of when do employers need to negotiate
It has always been a delicate issue trying to check whether potential employees have criminal records and now it has become even trickier, leaving employers in danger of acquiring a criminal record of their own if they don’t follow the correct procedures. The official way to check is to use the Disclosure and Barring Service,
A whistleblower who was sacked after revealing what he regarded as unfair practices by his employers has won his claim of unfair dismissal. The Employment Tribunal held that the disclosure was in the public interest. The case involved a manager who worked at a branch of a large estate agency chain. He told his area
When preparing restrictive covenants to protect a business from competition from former employees, the question of balance is always vitally important. The restrictions need to be tight enough to ensure protection but not so tight that the courts might rule them to be unenforceable. A recent case before the High Court highlighted the balancing act
The new system of Shared Parental Leave (SPL) allowing mothers and fathers to share 52 weeks’ leave came into effect on 5 April 2015. Under the SPL scheme, mothers are still required to take two weeks’ compulsory leave immediately after the birth, but the other 50 weeks can be shared between both parents. The benefits