News & events

11/07/2012 - Employment law news and case update

News update

Sunday working during the Olympics
While legislation has been passed allowing shops with more than 280sqm to have unrestricted opening hours between 22 July and 9 September, it is important to note that the statutory provisions preventing detriment or dismissal on account of refusing to work on a Sunday for certain shop and betting workers remain in full force.

Third-party harassment consultation
The Equality Act 2010 introduced employer liability for third-party harassment on the ground of a protected characteristic. The government is now in a period of consultation with a view to abolishing the provisions which are considered unnecessary regulation. It is important to note though that if abolished, it will not mean that employers will always escape liability for third party harassment - general harassment provisions exist elsewhere in the Equality Act 2010 where an employer's inaction may render them liable and an employee may be able to claim constructive dismissal in appropriate circumstances.

Tribunal statistics update
Quarterly statistics for the Tribunals Service covering the period 1 January – 31 March have recently been released and show (compared to last year), a 44% decrease in the overall number of claims to our Employment Tribunals. The number of single claims has decreased slightly and the number of multiple claims has decreased by 55%.

Case update

Can an appeal extend the effective date of termination?
Yes, according to the EAT in Hawes & Curtis Ltd v Arfan and another [2012]. Here, the employees were dismissed without notice for gross misconduct. Their termination letters clearly confirmed their termination date "as of the date of this letter”. The employees appealed and these were dismissed; however, the appeal decision letter indicated that while the summary dismissals were upheld, the effective date of termination was changed to the date on the appeal decision letters. The employees were also paid to this date. The later termination date meant that their unfair dismissal claims had been brought within the statutory time periods and thus afforded them a right of claim which they otherwise may have missed. There was no reason to extend service beyond the original dismissal date and so it is prudent for any employer to correctly identify, and state, the applicable termination date.

Authored by:

Catharine Geddes (show profile)

Published by:

Allison Grant (show profile)

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