HR Articles

In a judgment published this week in the case of Mutombo-Mpania v Angard Staffing Solutions, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision that - an employee who suffered from essential hypertension but had advised his employer that he had no disability was not, on the evidence he provided, a disabled person; and the employer could not reasonably have been expected to know that he was disabled.

It appears that Morrisons is the latest of the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets (so called due to their dominance of the market share) to face a string of Equal Pay claims. Whilst Tesco still holds the lion’s share, controlling 27.4% of the available market, Morrisons’ not so insignificant 10.2% keeps it firmly rooted as one of the most influential chains in the UK. The claimants’ representatives are well versed in this matter as they are already overseeing legal action on behalf of 30,000 employees at ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

In a recent EAT case, the claimant had decided to move from one department to another, both within the employer’s business. She had received a conditional job offer from the new department and wrote to her employer stating ‘please accept one month’s notice from the above date’. Her conditional offer was later withdrawn and she asked to retract, what she called, her notice of resignation. The employer refused stating that she had resigned.

Almost every job application in the modern world will ask for a reference to accompany an application. It is an important tool to establish whether a candidate is suitable for the role they are applying for.

British universities have called on the government to bring back the post study work visa which would allow overseas students to stay in the country to work for up to two years after graduation. The scheme was scrapped in 2012 and strict post study work rules may have had a significant impact on prospective applicants from certain countries, including India.

In North East London NHS Foundation Trust v Zhou, the EAT has decided that it may not necessarily be unreasonable conduct for solicitors to have filed an incomplete claim form.

In a recent High Court decision, the Court reaffirmed some important considerations when dealing with alleged breaches of contract by an employer.

The Government is facing judicial review proceedings over an exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018 that prevents citizens from accessing their immigration data. Two campaign groups, the Open Rights Group and the3million, have threatened legal action since the provision was introduced into the Data Protection Bill, and have now launched a legal challenge with the aim of seeing the provision removed from the statute.

A new YouGov survey of over 1800 people in the UK has found that only 6% are working the traditional working hours of 9am-5pm. 58% of those surveyed said they would like to start work earlier than 9am if it meant they could go home earlier.

Victimisation occurs when someone is subjected to a detriment because they have done (or it is believed they have or may do) a protected act. However, if the individual gives false information or makes a false allegation, their actions cannot amount to a protected act if these were also done in bad faith. If the information or allegation turns out to be false but was made in good faith it will still be protected.