An employment tribunal has found that a fear of catching Covid-19 is not a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010 (EA). Section 10 of the EA says that a belief means any religious or philosophical belief. To be a philosophical belief, the case of Grainger v Nicholson said the belief must be: Genuinely held…

Welcome to this month’s employment law update. In June we’re taking a look at: A health and safety dismissal case that reminds us that those with responsibility for health and safety have an important job to do – and this job comes with protection. Fire and rehire where a lack of consultation and any reasonable…

There can’t be a HR team in the land that hasn’t had a recent discussion about hybrid working and remote working. Its been on our clients agenda’s, so here’s the top 5 things we’ve been asked in the last week, and the answers to them: 1. Do we have to allow employees to work remotely…

Welcome to the first update of 2021! We’re kicking off the year with a selection of interesting cases from the Tribunal, including: Indirect discrimination in Heskett v Secretary of State for Justice Whistleblowing in Simpson v Cantor Fitzgerald Breach of Contract in Palmeri v Charles Stanley We’ve also got a quick update on National Minimum Wage and IR35 and, yes, we have…

As we head into the third official lockdown in the UK, our clients are asking us how best to help their employees navigate the challenges that these restrictions bring to everyday life. As schools close their doors, parents are faced with home-schooling alongside working from home. For key workers, the option to send their children…

Back in December 2019 we spent some time looking at the legal responsibilities for employers when dealing with flexible working requests. Although this was written pre-Covid-19 pandemic, the legal framework remains the same. We look at who can submit a request, how employers should deal with requests, refusing a request if you need too and…

All employers are having to react to the challenges arising from the Coronavirus outbreak. For many, this means a switch to working from home for an extended period of time. Its unfamiliar territory for some, and can be especially tricky for managers with teams of people around them that they now need to manage remotely.…

Coronavirus is giving rise to a variety challenging employee relations issues. Whilst each case will need to be dealt with on its own merits, there are some common approaches that employers may wish to adopt as a framework to help make decisions when issues of a similar nature arise. We have put together a short…