Employment tribunals and courts

New and updated

• Date:

  1 May 1997

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Qualifying period to ECJ

  In R v Secretary of State for Employment ex parte Seymour-Smith and Perez (13 March 1997) EOR73A, the House of Lords refers questions to the European Court of Justice relating to whether the increase in the qualifying period for bringing a complaint of unfair dismissal from one to two years indirectly discriminated against women contrary to European Community law.

• Date:

  15 April 1997

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Race discrimination: £21,000 award for injury to feelings upheld

  In HM Prison Service and others v Johnson, the EAT upholds an award of £21,000 for injury to feelings made by an industrial tribunal to a black prison officer who was subjected to a prolonged campaign of racial harassment and discrimination.

• Date:

  15 March 1997

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Unfair dismissal remedies: All termination payments deducted before "Polkey reduction"

  In Digital Equipment Co Ltd v Clements (No.2), the EAT holds that, in calculating the compensatory award for unfair dismissal, any termination payment the employee received from the employer should be deducted from his or her loss caused by the dismissal before reducing that net loss by the percentage chance, if any, that he or she would have been retained had the employer acted fairly.

• Date:

  1 December 1996

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Selkent Bus Co Ltd t/a Stagecoach Selkent v Moore

  In Selkent Bus Co Ltd t/a Stagecoach Selkent v Moore [1996] IRLR 661 EAT, the EAT set out guidance to industrial tribunals on the criteria to take into account in deciding whether to grant leave for amendment of an originating application.

• Date:

  1 November 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  No liability for victimisation

  In Waters v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (14 February 1995) EOR64B, the EAT rules that an employer could not be not liable for victimising an employee who alleged that she was sexually harassed by a work colleague, where the alleged harassment was not committed in the course of employment.

• Date:

  1 September 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  £28,500 award in race case

  A black prison officer who was subjected to "a campaign of appalling treatment" over a period of almost two years is awarded compensation of £28,500, including a record £21,000 for injury to feelings, by a London South industrial tribunal (Chair: E R Donnelly) in Johnson v (1) Armitage (2) Marsden (3) HM Prison Service.

• Date:

  1 July 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Redundancy: Discovery of assessment forms must relate to issues raised

  In British Aerospace plc v Green, the Court of Appeal considers the guiding principles for ordering discovery of marked assessment forms in cases where redundant employees claim that they were unfairly selected.

• Date:

  1 June 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Private sexual harassment hearing not permitted

  An industrial tribunal is not entitled to exclude members of the public (including the press) from the hearing of a sexual harassment case when the evidence to be given is of a sensitive or salacious nature, the Divisional Court has ruled in R v Southampton Industrial Tribunal ex parte INS News Group.

• Date:

  1 June 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Aggravated damages awarded

  In addition to awarding £2,500 for injury to feelings, a Manchester industrial tribunal (Chair: C Porter) in Ruizo v (1) Tesco Stores Ltd and (2) Lea awards a further £1,500 aggravated damages for the employer's lack of contrition and continuing failure to address or alleviate the problem of racial abuse.

• Date:

  1 June 1995

  Type:

  Employment law cases

  Chances approach may not be appropriate

  In Hunt v Secretary of State for Defence a London (South) industrial tribunal (Chair: T J Mason) doubts whether it is right to follow the "chance" approach to assessing past loss suggested by the EAT in the Cannock decision.