Managing employees/workers
In Woodward v Abbey National plc [2006] EWCA Civ 822 CA, the Court of Appeal held that statutory protection against being subjected to detriment for making a protected disclosure is not limited to the duration of the employment contract but extends to cover detriment imposed by an employer on its former employee.
In North Wales Training and Enterprise Council Ltd v Astley and others [2006] UKHL 29, the House of Lords holds that despite the intentions of the parties concerned, seconded employees were transferred to the new undertaking on the date when employer responsibility for carrying on the business transferred.
In Anderson v Jarvis Hotels EATS/0062/05, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that an employee was contractually entitled to be paid for periods when he was required to sleep on the employer's premises, even though he rarely had to carry out any work during these periods.
In Secession Ltd t/a Freud v Bellingham EAT/0069/05, the Employment Appeal Tribunal holds that the tribunal was entitled to imply a term to the effect that an employee with no written contract had the right to be paid in full during periods of sickness absence.
In New Southern Railway Ltd v Quinn [2006] IRLR 606 EAT, the Employment Appeal Tribunal holds that an employer's duty to take steps to "avoid" risk to a pregnant woman means that the risk should be reduced to its lowest acceptable level - not that it must be removed completely.
In Hoyland v Asda Stores Ltd [2006] All ER (D) 133 CS, the Court of Session holds that despite being described as "discretionary" a bonus scheme was "regulated" by the employee's contract of employment and therefore fell outside the scope of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.
In Diosynth Ltd v Thomson [2006] IRLR 284 CS, the Court of Session has made it clear that an employer is not entitled to take into account expired disciplinary warnings in making disciplinary decisions in respect of employees
In Matthews and others v Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority and others [2006] UKHL 8, the House of Lords held that in the assessment of whether full- and part-time workers are employed on broadly similar work, both the differences and the similarities between the two groups should be considered and an overall assessment made.
In British Airways plc v Noble and another [2006] IRLR 533 CA, the Court of Appeal has held that a reduction of 4/52 in employees' shift pay, spread evenly throughout the year, is not a breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998.
In Robinson-Steele v RD Retail Services Ltd and other cases Joined Cases C-131/04 & C-257/04 ECJ, the European Court of Justice held that it is unlawful to "roll up" holiday pay so that, in effect, workers' minimum period of paid annual leave is replaced by an allowance, paid in instalments throughout the year.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to managing employees/workers.