|
|
|
|
|
Previous Issues: July 29, 2008 |
August 7, 2008 This newsletter is provided with the compliments of
SkyBlue, all details are for 1) Union-recognition dispute ruling
altered after consultants complain |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Union-recognition dispute ruling altered after
consultants complain The Government-appointed court that deals with
union recognition disputes has taken the highly unusual step of amending
one of its judgments that criticised the behaviour of "union-busting" firm
The Burke Group. The Central Arbitration Committee, set up in 2000 and
chaired by High Court judge Sir Michael Burton, appeared to use a dispute
between the Communications Workers Union (CWU) and Cable & Wireless to
signal its dislike of the growing use of these consultants in
| |
|
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catholic schools and teachers' religious
beliefs The Employment Appeal Tribunal, in the case of
McNab v Glasgow City Council, accepted that the Education
( |
Women win landmark equal pay
battle Tens of thousands of women working for local
councils and health authorities won the right to higher wages today
following a landmark Court of Appeal ruling on equal pay laws. The
decision will allow thousands of female workers to bring employment
tribunal claims demanding compensation for being treated less favourably
than male workers doing the same or similar jobs. The claims are likely to
focus on local authorities and NHS trusts but the three judges who heard
the cases said the effect of the ruling extended beyond the public sector.
Lord Justice Mummery, the lead judge in the case, said the sums involved
could be "very large indeed". | ||
|
Top of
Page |
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hutton serves up a fair deal on
tips The Government has announced plans to amend
regulations so that tips can no longer count towards payment of the
National Minimum Wage, as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of its
landmark NMW legislation. The changes will end the practice of employers
using gratuities and service charges processed through the payroll to 'top
up' staff wages to meet the £5.52 per hour National Minimum Wage, which
rises to £5.73 on 1 October. Business Secretary, John Hutton, also
revealed proposals for making tipping practices fairer and emphasised the
importance of improving transparency. "Hundreds of thousands of people in
the | |
|
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous cases: Religious symbols at school or
work A Welsh pupil has won the right to wear a religious
bracelet to her school - after twice being suspended for refusing to
remove it. Hers is by no means the first battle over religious symbols.
While there are no laws banning religious symbols in British schools,
there are calls from special interest groups to reduce their presence. The
most controversial cases have involved Muslims. In 2006 a primary school
teacher, Aishah Azmi, lost her case for discrimination at an employment
tribunal after she was dismissed for refusing to remove her veil in the
classroom. She was willing to remove her niqab in front of children, but
not when male colleagues were present. Her case sparked a national debate
on multiculturalism and integration in |
Triumphant in spite of the equal pay
quagmire Today's court of appeal ruling has major
implications, not least that our outmoded equality legislation is unfit
for purpose. Whenever equal pay is mentioned, the word "complexity"
usually follows. And today's ruling from the court of appeal underlines
how complex resolving equal pay currently is. The judge who heard the case
himself declared that it was "the most complicated employment issue ever
to be heard by this court". Behind the seemingly Dickensian workings of
the legal system, with courts overturning others' rulings and the unions
themselves in the dock, is a human story of the women who have often borne
high emotional and financial costs to have their cases heard. For them,
the system is simply not working. Equal pay cases are taking too long and
are too complex. The result is that many women, especially the low paid,
those not in a union, those experiencing multiple difficulties or recently
returned from maternity leave, simply walk away from the situation and
never press a claim. And so the injustice gets perpetuated. Equal pay
legislation is now nearly 40 years old and is no longer fit for purpose.
The employment tribunal system is creaking under the weight of cases and
no one has yet answered the question of who will foot the bill to resolve
public sector cases and redress historical
wrongs. | ||
|
Top of
Page |
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Skilled workers under the Points
Based System (Tier 2) Statement of
Intent. Tier 2 replaces the existing work permit scheme
(including Training and Work Experience Scheme "TWES" permits) and, post
November 2008, will be the means by which | |
|
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rights deal riles
employers A joint statement by the Cabinet Office, Trades
Union Congress (TUC) and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says
that firms working for the State will have to give all staff basic skills
training and |
Business lobby group calls for a reform of dispute
resolution reforms The FPB is warning that proposed changes to the
dispute resolution process could make a bad situation even worse for many
small firms. The FPB is concerned that replacing the current mediation
process with a new Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas)
code of practice will add to the existing problems faced by small
businesses. "The revised code is shorter than the current code but it is
the phraseology that needs to be simplified so that smaller organisations,
which may not have human resources input, can more easily understand what
is being proposed," said the FPB's Legal Adviser. Although the intention
of the code is to encourage businesses and individuals to resolve disputes
internally, saving money and time it must be remembered that this was also
the intention of the statutory dismissal and grievance procedures. A cause
for concern is that we are reverting back to the pre-2004 position.
| ||
|
Top of
Page |
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disability discrimination ban applies to carers
too The Court of Justice of the European Communities
has ruled that the prohibition of direct discrimination against and
harassment of disabled people in employment, provided for in the Community
disability directive, was not limited to employees who were themselves
disabled but extended to unequal treatment and harassment of a
non-disabled employee for reasons connected with the disability of a
child. In the proceedings before the employment tribunal, the reference to
the European Court was made on the basis of a presumed set of facts which
included that on the claimant's return from maternity leave, she had been
treated in a way that parents of non-disabled children would not have
been, in that she had not been allowed to return to her existing job and
had less flexibility of working hours, and had been subjected to abusive
and insulting comments about her and her
child. | |
|
Top of
Page | ||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|