In BS v Dundee City Council [2014] IRLR 131 CS, the Court of Session found that a tribunal failed to address crucial questions in deciding whether or not an employee had been fairly dismissed for long-term absence and had been wrong to assume that the employee's length of service was a relevant consideration. Long service was relevant only insofar as it could lead to the inference that the employee was a good worker who would return to work as soon as possible.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has rejected a council's claim that it was required by an enactment to place a cap on the redundancy pay of an older worker who had reached civil service pension age.
The Court of Appeal has held that, while an occupational health report can assist employers in deciding whether or not an employee is disabled, it is up to the employer itself to make the final judgment as to whether or not the employee is covered by disability discrimination legislation. Employers must not simply "rubber stamp" the medical adviser's opinion.
Assumptions that an individual accused of sexual harassment must be guilty can be costly, as this council found out after a tribunal awarded the claimant £169,000 for sex discrimination and constructive dismissal.
The Supreme Court has held that the fact that the work of the claimants' chosen comparators has to be carried on in a different place of work out of necessity is no barrier to bringing an equal pay claim.
This tribunal decision provides a stark reminder to employers of the information on agency workers that they have been required to produce during redundancy and TUPE consultations since amendments to legislation made on 1 October 2011.
The Court of Session has held that a group of administrative and clerical female workers making equal pay claims against a local authority were on "common terms and conditions" with a group of male manual workers who were based in different locations.
In this decision, the employment tribunal was critical of a local authority that failed to keep an employee at risk of redundancy in employment for six more months during a transitional period. The decision had been taken to avoid a pension payout and constituted direct age discrimination and unfair dismissal.