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Pub chain J D Wetherspoon has been ordered to pay more than £25,000 in compensation after an employment tribunal concluded that it failed to make appropriate adjustments for an employee with autism during a disciplinary process. Background In ...
It depends why, says the Employment Appeal Tribunal , in yet another case where social media posts have led to a clash between freedom of expression and an employer's wish not to risk offending clients: in Ngole v Touchstone Leeds the Claimant, who...
In Chand v EE Limited the employee had a clean 16-year record. After 4 separate incidents during customer interactions over several months in 2022, the employer dismissed her over policy breaches and allegations of fraud. The Employment Tribunal found...
From October 2026, Trades Union will have the right of access to workplaces, even if the employer does not currently recognise a Trade Union. The right of access allows unions to meet, support, represent, or organise workers (not just union members) and to...
As the new tax year has started, most Employment Tribunal award limits increased on 6 th April 2026 in line with inflation: 1. Raised bands for injury to feelings awards: These new bands apply to new discrimination or detriment claims presented to a...
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is introducing the biggest changes to employment law in England, Wales and Scotland. These changes are being introduced gradually across 2026 and 2027 giving employers and employees the time to prepare and understand the...
Employment law is constantly evolving, and even small updates can have a meaningful impact on day-to-day working life. Two updates that are particularly important for both employers and employees are the latest changes to the Vento Bands and Statutory Sick...
As fuel prices have risen and fuel supply shortages continue to affect the country, employers may wish to consider the legal situation if employees can't get to work, or if employers can't provide work, e.g. due to supply issues, or lack of key...
Restrictive covenants are important tools and help form part of the employment contract. It is imperative that employees and employers understand the importance of restrictive covenants. Restrictive covenants are contractual obligations that employees must...
Employment disputes can be stressful, time-consuming and emotionally draining for everyone involved. Whether you are an employee bringing a claim, or an employer defending a claim, the process can feel complex and overwhelming. However, with the right...
The Employment Appeal Tribunal 'EAT' has issued an Order preventing a claimant, Ms Sandra Messi, from bringing any claims in Employment Tribunals without prior permission from the EAT for an indefinite period. Since 2017, Ms Messi had brought over 50...
As Ramadan is underway, many workplaces in the UK and beyond have employees who are fasting from sunrise to sunset. For employers it is important to extend flexibility during this period for their Muslim employees. It is imperative that employers foster an...
Chattertons is pleased to announce the appointment of Ed McFarlane as Partner and Solicitor Advocate (Civil) in its Stamford office, strengthening the firm’s Employment Law team. Ed brings over 20 years of experience representing clients in...
Employment law is not just a set of rules; it is also shaped by the real-life experiences of individuals who challenge decisions they believe are unfair. One striking example is the case of Sanju Pal v Accenture (UK) Ltd. What began as an unfair dismissal...
'Zero-Hour workers reach a record high ahead of crackdown' the BBC tells us. The number of zero-hour workers in December 2025 was 1.23 million, which might be partly due to seasonal work in retail and hospitality. The 'crackdown' that the...
A recent decision from the Employment Appeal Tribunal has shown the perils of settling claims with too wide terms, which left a Claimant unable to pursue a claim against a school which had allegedly not employed her because she had been a whistleblower. The...
The Act is now law after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, it will introduce many changes in employment, but the full details are yet to be clear as there are a range of consultations on lots of regulations that the government will be making in 2026 and 2027 to...
Whistleblowers (makers of public interest disclosures) are specially protected in law against suffering 'detriments' and dismissal. Company managers or directors who unfairly dismiss whistleblowers employed by their company can be made personally...
In Lamb v Teva UK Ltd , the Employment Appeal Tribunal 'EAT' has refused to overturn an Employment Tribunal's finding that a dismissal for misconduct was fair despite four complaints from the employee that: The investigating manager was a...
As has been widely reported, the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has lost a claim for harassment and indirect sex discrimination brought by seven female nurses -known as the Darlington Nurses - who complained that a male-to-female...
A recent judgment from the Employment Appeal Tribunal has shown how employers can go wrong when dismissing for gross misconduct. In Kisheva v Secure Frontline Services Ltd , a security officer with over 12 years service left her shift after an argument...
In Lamb v Teva UK Ltd , the Employment Appeal Tribunal 'EAT' has refused to overturn an Employment Tribunal's finding that a dismissal for misconduct was fair despite four complaints from the employee that: The investigating manager was a...
Now that the new Employment Rights Act 2025 has come into force, changes to a number of historical statutory rules employers have followed for decades will now be changed. One of the first changes will be to the current Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) regime...
On 26 October 2024 the new duty to prevent sexual harassment comes into force. In this update we provide details of the new duty, and the steps employers can take now to prepare. How has the law changed? Under the current law, sexual harassment in the...
Chattertons acted for the Claimant, Mrs Sisson, in her Employment Tribunal case. The Claimant was a Teaching Assistant and suffered severe anxiety amounting to a disability. The Claimant's employment terminated after the school alleged that she had...
In the recent case of Finegan v Ainsty Timber Marketing an Employment Tribunal considered an unfair dismissal claim brought by a director. The Claimant was a statutory director, acting as the Finance Director. He was partly paid in salary and partly for...
A fixed-term contract is a contract of employment that ends on a particular date unless renewed. Employers may use such contracts for temporary projects or surges in work that may not be sustainable. An employee engaged through fixed-term contracts is...
In the recent case of Mr W Norman v Lidl Great Britain Ltd: 1804509/2023 the Claimant, aged 60, had been selected after scoring one point lower than a comparator in his 30s. The Employment Tribunal deemed the selection for redundancy unfair due to flaws...
In the case of Bentinck v Marken Ltd: 3305095/2023 has found that an employee's dismissal was fair. The employer received a complaint from DHL Global Forwarding [“DHL”]. DHL was a client and competitor of the respondent. DHL identified...
In the case of Mr C V David v Jaguar Landrover Ltd an employment tribunal sitting in Birmingham has upheld the Respondent's application for costs in the sum of £20,000. The Claimant brought claims for constructive dismissal and race...
In the case of Mr R Kissick and others v Department for Education: 2202244/2022 an Employment Tribunal has considered when senior personnel are in scope to transfer on a service provision change. Background During 2017, the Department for Education...
A general election is to be held in the UK on 4 July 2024. In this update we provide details of the main employment law policies being pursued by each of the three main parties. The policies listed below are not an exhaustive list. General election 2024:...
New rules to ensure fairness and transparency around handling tips and gratuities will soon go live for hospitality and other service sector businesses. These are designed to ensure an even-handed approach in situations where the employer has...
In 2021, the government asked Acas to investigate the use of so-called "fire and rehire", which is the practice of forcing through changes to employees' terms and conditions of employment by terminating employment and offering re-engagement on...
In the recent case of Mr D Tadesse v The London Borough of Camden the employer was deemed to have failed to make a reasonable adjustment and victimised the employee regarding a proposed relocation after the Claimant had raised a grievance. The Claimant...
In the recent case of C R O’Neill v The Richmond Partnership: 2501671/2023 the Claimant raised an informal grievance, alleging bullying by her line manager, who practiced criminal law. Although the Employment Tribunal found that the Claimant's...
Paternity Leave On 7 March 2024, the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/329 ) were made. The regulations introduce the following key changes: To allow fathers and partners to take paternity leave as two non-consecutive blocks of one...
The draft Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations 2024 will introduce the following changes: Fathers and partners can take their leave and pay as two non-consecutive blocks of one week, rather than only in one block of either one or two weeks. Fathers...
In the recent case of Miss C Davies v Neath Port Talbot Council and Governing Body of Sandfields Primary School: 1600320/2023 an Employment Tribunal has considered the fairness of a redundancy procedure. The redundancy procedure arose in response to a...
The Government has launched a consultation on reintroducing Employment Tribunal fees. The Supreme Court had previously decided that the former fees regime was unlawful because of the extent to which those fees had restricted access to justice. However, on...
In the recent case of Sturgess v Cambridge Country Club Ltd: 3312598/2022 an Employment Tribunal has upheld a claim for unfair dismissal. The Claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct after the employer received allegations of harassment from three...
Martin Cornforth, Partner in Chattertons Employment Law team, recently provided an update for the National Association of Special Schools (NASS) following their HR & Finance Special Interest Group meeting. The update included information regarding...
In the case of Mr Allister Webb v Anglian Windows Ltd T/A Anglian Home Improvements an employment tribunal considered whether the claimant could be an employee having contracted with the respondent through a partnership. He could only pursue a claim for...
In the recent case of Ms S McAuley v Canterbury Christ Church University: 2300946/2021 an employment tribunal considered the fairness of a redundancy selection. The Claimant suffered from anxiety and depression, which was severe enough to attract...
In the case of Mr J Richardson v West Midlands Trains Ltd an Employment Tribunal considered the fairness of the Claimant's dismissal for two pranks played on a colleague, which were deemed to be bullying and gross misconduct by his employer. The...
In our previous newsletter we noted several updates in employment law including changes to working time, TUPE, and data protection. This month sees more updates announced including: Protection from redundancy during or after pregnancy or periods of family...
World Menopause Day took place on 18 th October 2023. To mark the occasion, we have produced an article reporting on a recent Employment Tribunal claim concerning the Menopause. Did you know that Menopausal symptoms could be defined as a disability...
Whistleblowing is the action someone takes to report wrongdoing in the public interest. This guide considers protection for whistleblowers in the work place. By law whistleblowers are protected from: unfair dismissal – if someone is dismissed for...
The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act received royal assent on 18 September 2023. The new legislation will give employees and workers a right to request a predictable work pattern under the Employment Rights Act 1996, subject to certain...
In the recent case of Borg-Neal v Lloyds Banking Group plc ET/2202667/22 an Employment Tribunal upheld an employee's claims following his dismissal for using an offensive racial term during a race education training session. The employee had worked...
