| Spring 2009 - Bulletin |
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As we remain in the depths of the current recession employment law continues to dominate the headlines. People could be forgiven for believing they were back in the 1970’s or 1980’s with issues in the news such as snow related absences, wide scale redundancies and strikes. The stand-off between Italian and Portuguese workers and local people at oil refineries recently posed difficult questions regarding the free movement of workers versus the protectionist call of British jobs for British people. We have also recently had the national Employment Tribunal statistics released. They reveal a 43% rise in Tribunal claims in the 2007/2008 period compared to the previous year. We at MILS have certainly found our litigation caseload expanding for clients. Employers should also note that one of the largest jumps was in age discrimination claims, which practically tripled from the previous year, as the 2006 Age Discrimination legislation begins to take hold. In this update we focus on three main areas. Firstly, the potential implications of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision known as the “Heyday Challenge”. Secondly, we look at the repealing of the Statutory Dispute Resolution Procedures on 6 April 2009 and its replacement with the revised ACAS code of practice. Thirdly, we look at holiday pay during sickness following the ECJ decision in Stringer –v- HMRC. Finally we look at a case in which TUPE (the legislation that protects employees on the transfer of businesses in certain circumstances) has reached frighteningly wide parameters. We end with a reminder about the extension to rights of flexible working. |