Blog

This week we welcome Tara Vij to the firm in the appointment of our Marketing Executive. As our offices further expand and our team continue to grow, we aim to offer a comprehensive level of service and will depend on Tara to relay the message through a host of...

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (the furlough scheme) has been extended until 30 September 2021 and the level of grant available to employers under the scheme will change from 1 July 2021. Although the government will continue to pay 80% of furloughed employees'...

In the case of Prosser v Community Gateway Association Ltd, the Employment Tribunal decided that sending a pregnant woman home during the COVID-19 lockdown was not discrimination. This is potentially the first judgement which addresses the issue of pregnancy...

It has been confirmed that Deliveroo riders are not workers with European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Article 11 rights to form trade unions. Only those in an “employment relationship” benefit from the right to form trade unions for the protection of their...

A report by the In-work Progression Commission identifies barriers faced by those in low pay looking to progress and sets out key actions to remove these barriers. Recommendations include that employers should adopt a five-point progression checklist (which includes...

A nurse who was dismissed after refusing to work weekends due to having to care for her young children has successfully appealed the Employment Tribunal’s decision in what is being welcomed as a ground-breaking case for working mothers. An Employment Tribunal Judge...

The furlough scheme ends in September and many employers will be planning how to keep their businesses profitable. Workers fear they will lose their jobs, and women are likely to feature disproportionately in the redundancy statistics. And there’s also the phenomenon...

Holiday pay and national minimum wage - isn’t everyone entitled? Yes, if they’re employed or classed as a worker. But an underclass of so called “self-employed” has grown up thanks to big firms operating in the gig economy. Research suggests almost half a million...

The popularity of remote working is on the rise but there are pitfalls for both employer and worker. The Office for National Statistics in its report Homeworking hours, rewards and opportunities in the UK: 2011 to 2020 found that 35.9 percent of the UK workforce...

Another couple of long running cases have recently been decided, Mencap v Tomlinson-Blake and Shannon v Rampersad. Both concern the pay of workers in a caring role when they are asleep but available to give care. Ms Tomlinson-Blake was employed by Mencap. She was...

“When did we stop caring about honesty and integrity” asked Superintendent Hastings in BBC’s popular drama, Line of Duty. A recent case, Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Constabulary v Eckland has highlighted that organised criminal gangs, corrupt police...

Our Managing Director, Gareth McCay, attended the High Court (virtually) last week on behalf of the Estate and parents of “Baby H” who brought proceedings against the Western Health and Social Care Trust. Baby H was born at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in 2015 however...