Managing employees/workers
In R (on the application of Kirk) v Middlesbrough Council and another [2010] IRLR 699 HC, the High Court held that a social worker accused of withholding information about a child protection investigation, of which she was the subject, from her private sector employer was not entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing.
Employers can use entries on websites such as Facebook and YouTube as evidence in disciplinary proceedings, as this case demonstrates.
An employment tribunal has found that an individual employed on three consecutive fixed-term contracts over almost a decade is a permanent employee, in a case that has significance for employers in sectors that regularly employ staff for a fixed term, such as teaching, IT and construction.
In Secretary of State for Justice v Mansfield EAT/0539/09, the EAT held that the postponement of disciplinary proceedings pending the outcome of criminal proceedings in respect of the employee's alleged misconduct did not render his eventual dismissal unfair.
In Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust v Roldan [2010] EWCA Civ 522 CA, the Court of Appeal held that an employment tribunal was entitled to find a dismissal unfair where the reason for the dismissal included an allegation about a secondary incident that had not been particularised, and where there had been a failure to investigate a key dispute of fact between the accuser and accused.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that, on the facts of the case, an employer did not commit sex discrimination against an employee on maternity leave when an administrative error meant that she was not informed of a job vacancy.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to managing employees/workers.