Dentons - UK Employment Law Round-up

An agreement tainted by illegality

October 31, 2016

Hughes v. The Coupers Partnership Ltd (CPL) UKEAT 0078_16 has provided a reminder of the concept of illegality.

Taking prior disciplinary warnings into account

October 31, 2016

The extent to which an employer can take prior warnings issued to employees into account can be confusing. The recent case of Trye v. UKME (UK Mission Enterprise Ltd) UKEAT 0066_16 is a helpful reminder of the Tribunal's approach.

Guidance on new judicial assessment procedure in employment tribunals published

October 31, 2016

Judge Brian Doyle, the President of the Employment Tribunals (England and Wales), has issued Presidential Guidance on the protocol for “judicial assessment” in the Employment Tribunal which allows judges to provisionally assess the case before them. The guidance came into force on 3 October 2016. Employment Tribunals must consider the guidance, but the ET is not bound by it.

Holiday pay update

October 31, 2016

In February this year, we reported to you via our Hub, that in Lock v. British Gas the EAT had held that holiday pay must include commission payments. The EAT applied the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) ruling on this issue and interpreted domestic UK law in a way that conforms with EU law.

Can an ACAS Early Conciliation certificate cover a claim which has not arisen before the date of the certificate?

October 31, 2016

In the recent case of Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd v. Morgan UKEAT 0060_16, the EAT clarified the scope of matters that can be covered by a single early conciliation period when an employee's resignation, and later claim for constructive unfair dismissal, post-dated the early conciliation certificate.

Corporate governance inquiry

October 31, 2016

The Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee has launched an inquiry into corporate governance, focusing on executive pay, directors' duties, and the composition of boardrooms, including worker representation and gender balance in executive positions.