What's new this month?
We kicked the new year off with the first round of HR Breakfast Club sessions looking at the GDPR which is coming into force in May 2018. Thank you to those of you that attended. The next round of HR Breakfast Club sessions will be announced shortly on an equally exciting and topical issue so keep your eyes peeled so as not to miss a space!
Nicky and I were delighted to be asked by the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce to provide an employment law case update in Nottingham. It was great to see the attendees there and thank you to all of those who came along. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Last but not least, we are delighted to welcome Ewan Carr to our expanding team. Ewan will be based primarily in our Nottingham office and has a great deal of experience in advising and supporting businesses on all aspects of employment law and I know that he is very much looking forward to meeting and working with you in the future.
Anything in the news?
A press release has been issued by the Government in relation to how they intend to respond to the independent review concluded last year by Matthew Taylor into modern working practices. A few of the measures outlined include enforcing vulnerable workers' holiday and sick pay for the first time, listing "day one" rights including a right to a payslip for all workers, and a right for workers to request a "more stable contract". Details of the Government's full response to the Taylor review can be found here.
Any new cases to be aware of?
There are a couple of cases of particular interest this month.
The first case is South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service v Mansell and others, which considers whether injury to feelings can be awarded where a claim has been brought for asserting working time rights.
This case involved a number of firefighters who were members of the Fire Brigade Union. The Union had a collective agreement with the Fire Service and under the terms of agreement the firefighters worked two day shifts, then two night shifts then four days off. A new system was introduced which required the firefighters to work consecutive 24 hour shifts of 12-hour days and 12-hour nights "on call" (whereby they were required to be at or near the fire station) then four days off. This new system did not vary the existing collective agreement and amounted to a breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998 with regard to night work and daily rest. The firefighters refused to agree to the changes and were transferred to other fire stations. They brought claims that they suffered detriments on the grounds that their journey times increased, they lost free time, care obligations were interfered with and they suffered disruption to their working patterns and relationships.
The EAT upheld their claims and concluded that they could be compensated for injury to feelings where they had suffered a detriment as a result of breaching the Working Time Regulations.
The second case of interest is Royal Surrey County NHS Foundation Trust v Ms M Drzymala, which considered the fairness of not renewing a fixed-term contract.
Ms Drzymala had been employed on a series of six month fixed-term contracts. She applied for a permanent position when it arose and, following an interview process, she was informed that she had been unsuccessful. She was subsequently given notice by her employer that her fixed-term contract would not be extended and her employment would therefore terminate at the end of the fixed-term period. She was not given the right to appeal the decision and there was no reference made to any alternative employment. Ms Drzymala was unhappy with this and raised a grievance about the appointment process and the decision to terminate her employment. She subsequently pursued a claim for unfair dismissal.
The EAT upheld the Tribunal's decision that her dismissal was unfair and reconfirmed that, whilst the dismissal of an employee by non-renewal of a fixed-term contract can potentially amount to a fair reason for "some other substantial reason", it is subject to the usual fairness principles within statute.
This serves a good reminder to employers that at the end of a fixed term contract consideration must be given to the reason the contract will not be renewed, and whether the reason is for one of the potentially fair grounds laid within statute, and that a fair process be followed (including consideration being given to other roles within the organisation).
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