Category Archives: Employment law

Government urged not to resurrect fees for UK employment tribunals

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Unions and workers’ groups say return of fees, scrapped in 2017, will send wrong message to employers

Unions and workers’ rights groups are urging the government to reconsider plans to reintroduce fees for employment tribunals amid fears it will encourage exploitation.

A coalition of 48 organisations, including the TUC, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Fawcett Society and Maternity Action, said bringing back fees, which were ditched in 2017, meant “bad employers are being given the go-ahead to undercut good ones”.

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Labor’s sexual harassment changes could clog courts with ‘unmeritorious’ claims, Law Council warns

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Costs protection bill would tilt balance in favour of accusers and move financial risk to accused, legal body says

The Law Council of Australia has warned that proposed changes removing cost barriers for applicants in sexual harassment and discrimination cases could result in “arbitrary and unintended consequences” such as clogging the courts with “unmeritorious” claims.

Before a parliamentary inquiry hearing into the bill next Wednesday, the peak legal body said in its submission it was concerned Labor’s bill too heavily tilted the balance towards those accusing sexual harassment and placed the burden of financial risk on those being accused.

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Diversity policies face ‘full-out attack’ in 2024, leading HR boss warns

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President of the largest human resources organization in country says national shift following George Floyd’s 2020 murder is fading

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within US companies will “come under full-out attack in 2024”, the president of the largest US human resources organization in the US has said.

“It’s going to become a hot-button issue this year,” Johnny C Taylor Jr, president and chief executive of the Society of Human Resource Management, told reporters. The national shift to be more inclusive that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and the Black Lives Matter protests that followed, is already fading, he said. “We’re already seeing companies go away from it.”

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Holiday pay ruling ‘entitles many UK workers to thousands in unfairly deducted wages’

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Unison says decision affects other types of employee payments and is ‘victory for underpaid workers’

Many UK workers could be entitled to thousands of pounds “unfairly” deducted from their pay after a supreme court decision, according to unions.

The judgment relates to a long-running row about holiday pay but Unison, which participated in the case, said the ruling affected all other types of payment to employees and called it a “victory for underpaid workers”.

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Boris Johnson government ‘always hoped’ Northern Ireland protocol would collapse – UK politics live

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Lord Frost, Brexit negotiator for former PM, tells House of Lords that government never wanted ‘unsatisfactory’ protocol to work

Rayner says Labour will update trade union laws to make them fit for the 21st century.

The laws affecting union reps and officials do not take into account technological advancements, she says.

First, we will update regulations to outlaw the use of predictive technologies for blacklisting and safeguard against singling out workers for mistreatment or the sack without any evidence of human interaction.

Second, we will act to end the loophole that allows employers to pass the dirty work down to third party contractors, so that any third party found to be carrying out blacklisting can legally be held to account.

The Tories pushed through the 2016 Trade Union Act, preventing fair bargaining and holding back living standards.

And this year they gave us the minimum service levels bill [the Strikes Act] …

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Rishi Sunak says he told China actions to undermine British democracy are ‘completely unacceptable’

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Prime minister says he told Li Qiang, the Chinese prime minister, at G20 that Chinese interference with the work of parliament will ‘never be tolerated’

Simon Clarke, who was the levelling up secretary during the Liz Truss premiership, has defended the government’s decision not to explicitly label China as a threat. In posts on X, or Twitter as many of us still call it, he said:

There are legitimate reasons why it is difficult for ministers to say China is a threat – that’s the nature of international relations. What matters more than words is that our policy choices change to reflect the undoubted danger of China’s actions.

Here I think the Government’s record stands up pretty well. You have the soft power of our new Pacific trade bloc membership in the CPTPP (which notably does not include China) and you have the hard power of the new AUKUS alliance - itself a response to Chinese aggression.

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Coalition and employers back David Pocock over splitting contentious industrial relations bill

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ACT senator wants to move forward with workers’ compensation for PTSD and banning discrimination against employees experiencing domestic violence

Employer groups and the Coalition have backed calls from David Pocock to split Labor’s industrial relations bill and deal with uncontentious parts this year, including workers’ compensation and discrimination law reforms.

The influential crossbencher is considering moving a private senator’s bill to move forward with provisions improving access to workers compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder in the ACT as a priority.

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UK’s best known retailers top list of firms fined £7m over pay breaches

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WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos among more than 200 firms that failed to pay workers legal minimum wage

Some of the UK’s best known retailers including WH Smith, Marks & Spencer, Argos and LloydsPharmacy are at the head of a list of more than 200 companies collectively fined £7m for failing to pay the legal minimum wage.

The businesses were also forced to pay out £4.9m to about 63,000 workers left out of pocket after violations of the rules were uncovered by inspectors at HMRC, varying from breaches related to asking workers to pay for aspects of their uniform to paying the incorrect apprenticeship rate.

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Covid inquiry reveals fresh battle for release of government messages – UK politics live

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Lawyer for Covid inquiry announces ‘regrettable’ delays in handing over of information by government

Q: What would the minimum wage for workers be under your fair pay agreement for care workers? (See 10.47am.)

Starmer says his sister is a care worker. He knows how hard the job is.

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Calls for stricter UK oversight of workplace AI amid fears for staff rights

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Campaigners, unions and MPs raise concerns about surveillance and use of ‘management by algorithm’

Campaigners, trade unions and MPs are calling for stricter oversight of the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, amid growing concerns about its effect on staff rights.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is holding a half-day conference on Tuesday to highlight the challenges of ensuring workers are treated fairly, as what it calls “management by algorithm” becomes increasingly prevalent.

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No 10 declines to say Sunak confident Zahawi has always told him truth about his tax affairs – UK politics live

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Downing Street spokesperson also says inquiry into former chancellor’s affairs to be ‘conducted swiftly’

There are two urgent questions in the Commons later. At 12.30pm Caroline Lucas (Green) is asking one about the child asylum seekers who have gone missing from hotel accommodation provided by the Home Office, and that will be followed by Ben Bradshaw (Lab) asking one about the Church of England’s stance on equal marriage.

After those are over Damian Hinds, the justice minister, will deliver a statement about the probation inspectorate.

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Hundreds of Indonesian fruit pickers in UK seek diplomatic help

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Exclusive: More than 200 people have approached Indonesian embassy since July to report difficulties faced

More than 200 Indonesian fruit pickers have sought diplomatic help since July after facing difficulties working in Britain this season, the nation’s embassy has revealed.

The Guardian has spoken to a pair of workers sent to a farm in Scotland that supplies berries to M&S, Waitrose, Tesco and Lidl. They claim pickers were sent back to the caravan if they could not work fast enough and left with large debts to repay.

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UK drivers for Bolt ride-hailing app pursue worker benefits claim

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Lawyers acting for more than 1,600 drivers say they have been wrongly classed as self-employed

More than 1,600 UK drivers working for the ride-hailing app Bolt are seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments as they argue they have been wrongly classed as self-employed contractors.

Lawyers for the drivers have written to the government-backed workplace conciliation service Acas, in the first stage of lodging the claim against Bolt.

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Labour MP’s aide was unfairly dismissed, tribunal rules

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Elaina Cohen wins two claims against Khalid Mahmood but loses claim that dismissal was related to her race, religion or belief

A parliamentary aide and former partner of a Labour MP has won a claim against him for unfair dismissal with a tribunal also agreeing she was “isolated and marginalised” for a year before being sacked.

Elaina Cohen won two claims that she made against her former boss Khalid Mahmood, the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr. But she lost other claims including that her dismissal was related to race, religion or belief.

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Victoria’s move to restrict ‘silencing’ sexual harassment victims welcomed by unions and lawyers

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State government proposes reforms to use of nondisclosure agreements by employers in Australian first

The use of nondisclosure agreements will be restricted in sexual harassment cases to prevent victim-survivors being silenced, under reforms proposed by the Victorian government that are backed by employment lawyers and industry groups.

The move – an Australian first – was announced on Monday by Victoria’s workplace safety minister, Ingrid Stitt, who said the proposed reforms were a direct response to a ministerial taskforce investigating workplace sexual harassment, which made 26 recommendations. Most have already been accepted by the government.

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Maya Forstater was discriminated against over gender-critical beliefs, tribunal rules

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Researcher lost job at thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex

A researcher who lost her job at a thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex has won her claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs.

Maya Forstater suffered direct discrimination when the Centre for Global Development (CGD), where she was a visiting fellow, did not renew her contract or fellowship, an employment tribunal found on Wednesday.

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Stonewall ‘malicious’ in legal fight against Allison Bailey, tribunal hears

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Barrister involved in employment tribunal with her chambers and leading LGBTQ+ charity

Stonewall has been “high-handed and malicious” in its ongoing legal fight against a gender critical barrister, her lawyer has told the final day of an employment tribunal.

The barrister Allison Bailey is suing her chambers, Garden Court, and the LGBTQ+ charity. She claims she was offered lower-quality work after she voiced her opposition to the nationwide Stonewall diversity champion scheme when it was announced at her chambers in December 2018. Stonewall’s programme provides advice and assessments for inclusive workplaces.

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Migrant care workers came to help the UK. Now they’re trapped in debt bondage

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Investigation: Britain called out to workers around the world to ease a staff crisis. But many have to pay thousands in illegal fees to recruitment agencies

Read exclusive story: Migrant care workers charged thousands in illegal fees

Meera Stephen came to Britain with a big suitcase and even bigger dreams. The 27-year-old had left Kerala in south India to work at a care home in Manchester, one of thousands of migrant workers to come after a government recruitment drive to fill more than 100,000 vacancies in social care.

The job would pay £10 an hour – just above minimum wage. But it came at a price. In exchange for securing her employment, she would pay a recruitment agent 1.3m rupees – about £13,700.

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Thousands of UK workers begin world’s biggest trial of four-day week

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With work changed for ever by the pandemic, businesses are testing whether pilot represents a recognition that ‘the new frontier for competition is quality of life’

More than 3,300 workers at 70 UK companies, ranging from a local chippy to large financial firms, start working a four-day week from Monday with no loss of pay in the world’s biggest trial of the new working pattern.

The pilot is running for six months and is being organised by 4 Day Week Global in partnership with the thinktank Autonomy, the 4 Day Week Campaign, and researchers at Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.

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Junior staff could have risked career by not attending No 10 parties, lawyer says

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Refusing a boss’s request may harm relationship and cause employee to take legal action, according to expert

Junior civil servants who did not want to attend lockdown-breaching parties held at 10 Downing Street risked being forced to take legal action and put their careers in jeopardy, a senior employment lawyer has said.

The law expects people to stand up for themselves, experts have said, with employees largely expected to comply with their bosses. Whistleblowing legislation is rarely used because people are worried about repercussions.

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