The government has unveiled what it describes as the “largest upgrade in a generation to workplace rights”. Ministers say the extensive new measures contained in its Good Work Plan will give businesses greater clarity on their obligations and ensure the enforcement system is fair and fit for purpose. The new legislation will close a loophole
Uber says it will continue its legal fight against the ruling that its drivers should be classed as workers. It made the statement after the Court of Appeal upheld an Employment Tribunal decision in 2016 that drivers were entitled to workers’ rights including the minimum wage. The tribunal at the original hearing heard that Uber
A recruitment agency’s employment contracts, which failed to specify the required number of working hours, have been ruled unlawful by the Employment Tribunal. The case was brought by 191 workers. They were employed under different contracts, but their terms and conditions were materially the same. They were guaranteed “”a rate of pay at least equivalent
The law provides wide-ranging protection against disability discrimination but that does not extend employees who’ve been found guilty of stealing. This was illustrated in a recent case involving Mr A Wood, who worked for Durham County Council. Mr Wood was found to have taken some items from Boots the Chemist without paying. He was accused
We live in uncertain times. Brexit is around the corner. We don’t know what type of Brexit it will be and how it will impact on our finances. Property prices have been stagnant or even fallen in the South East over the past 12 months. There is no expectation they will recover any time soon.
Campaigners have introduced a bill into parliament to prevent gold-diggers exploiting the elderly and the vulnerable by marrying them for the sole purpose of inheriting their estates. Under the law as it stands, a person’s will is automatically invalidated when they marry. This means that unless they make another will, when they die they are
A bus driver who was dismissed after testing positive for cocaine has been awarded more than £37,000 compensation. Ken Ball, aged 62, worked for First Essex buses. He was dismissed after failing a saliva test for cocaine in 2017. He brought an unfair dismissal claim to the Employment Tribunal, saying that his test may have
An ombudsman is to be appointed to support people facing problems with their newly built home. The move is part of a series of government measures to improve the housing market and speed up the building of new properties. The New Homes Ombudsman will protect the interests of homebuyers and hold developers to account when
A divorced husband’s sister has been held in contempt of court for failing to provide business records to his former wife. The dispute arose because following divorce proceedings, the husband was ordered to transfer to the wife his 100% shareholding in a property management company. However, he didn’t provide the necessary information to enable the
A man has been jailed for seven months for repeatedly ignoring court orders to help return three abducted children to their mother. The man was the uncle, or possibly the elder half-brother, of three children who had been unlawfully retained by their father in Nigeria in 2013. The mother began legal proceedings and the uncle