It is summer and, as any Sales Executive examining his or her annual commission payments will realise, the motor industry is somewhat seasonal by nature.

On the MILS legal helpline we have found that queries relating to redundancy and restructuring have, of late, slightly eased, but that we have remained as busy as ever during the summer with the usual employment law queries. We also encounter seasonal employment issues such as annual leave, appropriate employee appearance in the hot weather and (not to mention) bouts of mysterious employee sickness coinciding with major sporting events.

As regular readers of our bulletin will realise, employment law rarely stands still and this summer has again seen some interesting developments. In this update we look at the following areas:

• The Employment Appeal Tribunal has clarified the legal tests for reinstatement of an employee in an unfair dismissal claim: Central and NW London NHS Trust v Abimbola .
• Clarification on the law of victimisation in discrimination claims (and a warning to any employer who may be considering retribution against a successful Claimant by way of non payment of a Tribunal award): Rank Nemo v Coutinho.
• A further (and largely unhelpful) decision from the House of Lords on the issues relating to long term sick leave, raised in Stringer v HMRC .
• Government consultation on (a) tips to make up the national minimum wage and(b) “fit notes” instead of sick notes.
• Announcement of national minimum wage rates for the autumn.
• Swine flu : considerations for employers at this juncture.