Employment law court cases

Important employment law court cases from UK in “easy to read” format.

United Kingdom :: A one-off act or decision relating to disability adjustment does not constitute a “provision, criterion or practice”

UNITED KINGDOM Court Court of Appeal Case Ishola v Transport for London (TfL) [2020] EWCA Civ 112 Date issued 7th February 2020 Subject A one-off act or decision relating to disability adjustment does not constitute a “provision, criterion or practice” Substance The Court of Appeals has decided that one-off acts, or decisions, do not constitute PCP (a provision, criterion or practice); a display of which is required when bringing a claim of indirect discrimination or failure to make reasonable adjustments due to disability …

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United Kingdom :: Dismissal of an employee after refusing an employer’s offer to “accommodate” a religious preference

UNITED KINGDOM Court Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Case Ikejiuba v WM MORRISON SUPERMARKETS PLC Date issued 9th July 2019 (reported late) Subject Dismissal of an employee after refusing an employer’s offer to “accommodate” a religious preference Substance The case concerned a claim made by an employee on the grounds of unfair dismissal following his refusal to work on Sundays for religious reasons …

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United Kingdom :: Will failure to disclose all relevant information to the disciplinary decision maker make a dismissal unfair?

UNITED KINGDOM Court Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Case Uddin v London Borough of Ealing Date issued 13th February 2020 Subject Failure of investigating officer to reveal necessary facts to a person deciding on a termination could lead to unfair dismissal Substance The appellant had been dismissed by the respondent after an allegation was made against him for sexual misconduct …

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United Kingdom :: Employer liability to pay even in circumstances not stipulated in a contract

UNITED KINGDOM Case Philip Barton v Timothy Gwyn-Jones & Others Court Court of Appeal Date issued 22nd October 2019 Subject Employer liability to pay even in circumstances not stipulated in a contract Substance The Court of Appeal has ruled that an oral contract stipulating that a specific fee would be paid to an agent for selling property at a particular price did not prevent the agent from being paid if the property was sold for a lesser amount …

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United Kingdom :: Employer may not be liable for third-party harassment and discrimination

UNITED KINGDOM Case Colleridge Bessong v Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust Court Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Date issued 18th October 2019 Subject Employer may not be liable for third-party harassment and discrimination Substance The appellant was a mental health nurse and was subject to an assault from a patient due to their race …

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United Kingdom :: WT detriment and unfair dismissal?

UNITED KINGDOM Case Pazur v Lexington Catering Services Ltd Court Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) Date issued August 20th 2019 Subject Non-allowance of rest breaks, employee refused to work at a particular site and claimed WT detriment and unfair dismissal Substance This case concerned a kitchen porter who was assigned by an agency to work on different client sites …

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United Kingdom :: Massaging does not amount to harassment

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Raj v Capita Business Services Ltd and another Court: Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) Date issued: 6th June 2019 Subject: Massaging does not amount to harassment Substance: Following his termination for performance reasons, a (junior) male employee brought a claim against his employer and female team leader, accusing the latter of sexual harassment …

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United Kingdom :: What should employers (not) say?

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Upton-Hansen Architects Ltd v Gyftaki Court: Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) Date issued: 9th May 2019 Subject: Constructive dismissal case: what should employers (not) say? Substance: The employee in this case had resigned and then filed a constructive dismissal claim, in which they accused their former employer of a breach in the implied contractual term of “mutual trust” …

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United Kingdom :: Calculation of holiday pay for atypical employees

UNITED KINGDOM Case: The Harpur Trust v Brazel Court: Court of Appeal Date issued: 6th August 2019 Subject: Calculation of holiday pay for atypical employees Substance: A school teacher working on a “visiting music teacher” hourly-paid contract (akin to a “term-time contract”) sought to challenge the way their holiday entitlement was calculated …

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United Kingdom :: Are agency workers entitled to the same working hours as permanent employees?

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Dominic Kocur v Angard Staffing Solutions Ltd and Royal Mail Group Ltd   Court: Court of Appeal (CA) Date issued: 11th July 2019 Subject: Are agency workers entitled to the same working hours as permanent employees? Substance: The CA held that the Agency Worker Regulations do not grant agency workers the entitlement to work the same number of hours as directly employed staff in the same organisation …

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England and Wales :: Could the defence of “illegality” of contract save an employer from employment tribunal claims liability?

ENGLAND AND WALES Case: Ivy Okedina v Judith Chikale Court: Court of Appeal Date issued: 31st July 2019 Subject: Could the defence of “illegality” of contract save an employer from employment tribunal claims liability? Substance: The Court of Appeal held that it could not …

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United Kingdom :: Case law on social media

Employers should have a clear social media policy in place, which expressly mentions what is acceptable and what is not acceptable conduct …

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United Kingdom :: Is an employer vicariously liable for their employees’ social media posts under the Equality Act provisions?

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Forbes v LHR Airport Ltd Court: Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Date issued: February the 28th 2019 (Reported late) Subject: Is an employer vicariously liable for their employees’ social media posts under the Equality Act provisions? Substance: The EAT upheld an Employment Tribunal’s decision that the employer was not vicariously liable for a harassing act committed by one of their employees …

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United Kingdom :: Does making a covert recording of a disciplinary meeting amount to gross misconduct?

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Phoenix House Ltd v Stockman Court: Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) Date issued: July the 5th 2019 Subject: Does making a covert recording of a disciplinary meeting amount to gross misconduct? Substance: In this case, the EAT provided some useful guidance on the circumstances taken into consideration when assessing this kind of situation …

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United Kingdom :: Does the use of overgeneralized wording in non-compete clauses render them unenforceable?

UNITED KINGDOM Case: Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd Court: Supreme Court Date issued: 3rd July 2019 Subject: Does the use of overgeneralized wording in non-compete clauses render them unenforceable? Substance: The Supreme Court held that it does not necessarily render such clauses invalid …

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