The latest update from the Employment Tribunal - March 2024.

The latest updates from the Employment Tribunal - February 2024

We all know that coaching a witness for an Employment Tribunal is wrong, but can you train witnesses for the Employment Tribunal (ET)? What’s the difference between coaching and training, and where should employers draw the line?

Vista's employment tribunal advocates share their top tips on how HR can prepare their witnesses for a favourable outcome.

The latest cases from the employment tribunal and what we can learn from them.

The recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case of Higgs v Farmor’s School provides a helpful guide on the nuances of the manifestation of having a religious or philosophical belief. Stephen Foster runs through what we can learn from this case in this short video.

The Fire Brigades Union has just won it's appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case has a couple of really interesting points for employers in regards to the employment relationship, Suzanne and Stephen cover what we can learn in this short video. 

The latest updates from the employment tribunal.

Vento bands: What are they? What do they mean? And what are the factors that the employment tribunal will be taking into consideration when deciding an injury to feeling award?

The latest updates from the employment tribunal.

The latest cases and learnings from the employment tribunal.

The latest cases and learnings from the employment tribunal.

Our team look at the case of University of Dundee v Chakraborty, which highlights the importance of getting investigations right first time.

We look at the latest cases emerging from the employment tribunal.

Suzanne Pipe runs through the details of this interesting case and what we can learn from it in this short video.

Things have been hotting up in the tribunal in July, here's our round up of the latest cases.

The latest from the employment tribunal this month.

We’re head on into another year where remote hearings will be a mainstay of HR professionals and employment lawyers’ lives. We’ve been representing our clients nationally in this way for…

Section 13(1) of the Equality Act 2010 defines discrimination as occurring where “because of a protected characteristic, A treats B less favourably than A treats or would treat others”. In…

In our blog series addressing all aspects of the employment tribunal process, we’ve come to the stage of employment tribunal awards. Tim Cross, Director of Employment and Legal Affairs at…

Stephen Foster answers a series of FAQ’s about the employment tribunal process. We cover; what to do when your witness has left the business, the risks associated with having a…

Royal Mail v Jhuti presents an interesting case on a topic that we have seen in two or three cases recently – Whistleblowing.

Claire Rosney discusses the learning points for the Airbus team from the recent case of City of London Police v Geldart.

Tim Cross talks us through this TUPE case which could put a cat amongst the pigeons.

The most significant tribunal cases of 2019 saw decisions made in both the European and UK courts. We’ve put together a roundup of a few of the most notable Tribunal…

ACAS have released some new guidance on Menopause in the Workplace. Tim Cross talks us through the guidance and why it’s so important to raise awareness of the condition in this short video.

Stephen Foster looks at the recent case of Harrison v Aryman – and in particular reminds us of the limits to protected conversations.

The case of Base Childrenswear v Otshudi recently went to the Court of Appeal. Claire Rosney talks us through the decisions from the Tribunal, and what we can learn from them.

Abi Alemoru focusses on the case of Raj v Capita Business Services and whether a massage from a manager was sexual harassment or not.

Claire Rosney discusses whether vegetarianism and veganism is protected under The Equality Act following the case of Conisbee v Crossley Farms.

Can an agency worker use the AWR to insist on the same hours as a permanent employee? The Court of Appeal has looked at this issue in the case of Kocur v Royal Mail. Claire Rosney covers the case in this short video.

This is a very interesting case covering covert recordings. Chris MacNaughton talks us through the key aspects of Phoenix House v Stockman.

Tim Cross talks the ways in which employer can reduce employment tribunal awards.

In the case of Heskett v Secretary of State for Justice, employees were hot under the collar when a change to probation officers’ pay-scales meant that younger workers took longer to get to the top of the scale and were paid less than their older colleagues. Here’s the full case and the learnings we can take from it, with Claire Rosney.

Claire Rosney looks at the case of Baldeh v Churches Housing Association, where Ms Baldeh was dismissed over concerns about her performance and behaviour. At her appeal hearing she said that her behaviour was caused by depression. When she was dismissed, she brought a claim of discrimination arising from disability.

Employment tribunal claims have risen by 90% since the abolition of employment tribunal fees in July 2017. The rise has led to a new ‘frequently asked question’ here at Vista;…

Let’s face it, no employer wants to lose an employment tribunal. Abi Alemoru, Director of Litigation at Vista spends 2 minutes taking employers through the key ways to get a…

Abi, our Director of Litigation answers your top questions about the employment tribunal.

In Hextall vs Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police the Claimant tried and failed to extend the definition of sex discrimination to establish a right to enhanced shared parental pay. Despite convincing the Employment Appeal Tribunal that there was potential for an indirect discrimination claim when employers enhance maternity pay but not shared parental pay, Mr Hextall was unable to persuade the Court of Appeal. Suzanne reviews the case and what it means for Airbus in this video.

You are in the run up to an employment tribunal hearing and your witness has left the business. Whether that be under a cloud or hopefully on good terms, here’s…

The case of ICTS v Visram deals with the tricky issue of a medical capability dismissal in a case where the employee has a contractual entitlement to permanent health insurance. View the full case in the May edition of InView for Airbus.

When can an employer be vicariously liable for the acts of employees? In Shelbourne v Cancer Research UK the High Court held that the employer was not liable when one employee injured another on the dance floor. Abi Alemoru explains what implications this case may have for the Airbus team.

The case of CCOO v Deutsche Bank was featured in March’s edition of InView for Airbus, and looked at whether organisations were required to keep records of daily working time. At the time we had an opinion from the Advocate General, however we have an update from The European Court of Justice. Claire talks us through it here. An interesting opinion from the advocate General on working time records in the case of CCOO v Deutsche Bank.

Suzanne takes us through the well publicised case of Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth where the Court of Appeal looked at the decision to suspend a teacher and whether it resulted in the employee being constructively dismissed.

Claire discusses the case of Beattie v Conderrat where the connection between a final written warning and a subsequent dismissal was examined. She talks us through what the Airbus team can take from the case.

The case of Spaceman v ISS Mediclean also looked at the employer’s reasoning in relation to a dismissal. In this case it was a short service dismissal, where the reason can be key as it will determine what if any claims the employee has the right to bring. Mr Spaceman claimed that he had been dismissed because he had asserted a statutory right (an automatically unfair reason for dismissal). However, the EAT did not agree and his claim failed on the grounds he had complained to his employer about something he believed they were going to do rather than something they had done. This could not amount to a breach of a statutory right as it had not yet happened.

In Ibrahim v HCA, the employer challenged a whistleblowing claim on the grounds that the disclosure did not meet the public interest test and the EAT agreed that the employee had not fulfilled that aspect of the test. Although, it is worth remembering that seemingly ‘personal’ disclosures have been held to be in the public interest so employers should proceed with caution when considering disclosures that could be protected.

A dreaded ET1 Claim Form has landed on your desk. First things first, don’t panic! All employers deal with tribunal claims, having to defend one doesn’t make you a terrible…

The law of disability discrimination is regularly challenged. In Lamb v The Garrard Academy, the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at when constructive knowledge of a disability will arise in practice. The employer in this case had not had confirmation that the employee’s condition would amount to a disability. However, the EAT held that the employer was in possession of facts which should have led them to ask more questions. Had they referred Ms Lamb to OH, it would have been confirmed that her condition was a disability. As a result, the employer was deemed to have constructive knowledge. This case demonstrates that failure to ask obvious questions and/or seek medical advice will not enable an employer to plead ignorance or avoid obligations in relation to disabled employees.

There is a common misconception about the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). For employers, it’s formal, stuffy and ‘there’s no point pursuing the matter further because we would never get the…

Can an employer dismiss an employee for capability reasons when they are contractually entitled to long term disability benefits? No, not fairly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has said in Awan v ICTS.

Is it fair to dismiss an employee in the transport industry who fails a drugs test? Not always, said the employment tribunal recently. Ball v First Essex Buses looked at the range of reasonable responses test in conduct dismissals and shows how an employer can come unstuck even in seemingly clear-cut cases.

You have an employment tribunal claim that you believe your organisation should settle. There may be plenty of obstacles ahead of you, in the shape of your MD muttering phrases…

Choosing the right witnesses for a tribunal hearing is essential. The selection can have a huge influence on the outcome; cases really are won or lost on the witness evidence.…

Continuing our series focussed on the employment tribunal process, we’re looking at how to write a good witness statement. At this stage of the employment tribunal process all the evidence…

When preparing for an employment tribunal case, one of the most tedious tasks can be the process of disclosing documents and pulling together the hearing bundle. At first, this may…

An ET1 form is not something to be taken lightly and acting quickly can benefit an employer in the long run and improve the prospects of their case. As soon…

A preliminary hearing is one of the first critical steps an employer may have to take as part of the journey towards the employment tribunal. Here’s our round up of…

Since the Supreme Court judgment that tribunal fees were unlawful there has been a marked increase in employment tribunal cases, and the figure is expected to keep rising. During a…