Publications

The disability employment gap remains high at 28.4%, despite a small decrease of 4.8% over the last eight years. In a bid to improve inclusive practices within the UK, the Government has now launched a consultation into whether workforce reporting on disability should be introduced for employers with 250 or more employees.

The number of menopause claims in the Employment Tribunal has increased threefold in the last three years. Menopause is not a stand-alone protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010; however, depending on the facts of the case, a menopausal worker may be protected on the grounds of sex, age or disability. It is the latter characteristic that is most commonly relied upon.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) recently upheld an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision that an employee who made controversial remarks on Zionism was unfairly dismissed.

The start of December brings the beginning of work Christmas party season. For employers, Christmas parties provide an opportunity to strengthen teams and thank employees. However, work social events can be seen as an extension of the workplace and therefore employers do need to be aware of how doing something seasonal for staff may result in unintended liabilities.  This article sets out the circumstances in which an employer can be held liable for the actions of their employees and what they can do to try and mitigate this.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show in October 2021, job vacancies were at 1.17 million. This is almost 400,000 higher than before the pandemic. The research also found that almost half of employers (46%) are finding recruitment difficult and anticipate the situation declining further over the next six months.

The EAT has recently held in Bennett v MiTAC Europe Limited that an employee with cancer will be disabled under the Equality Act 2010 from the date on which they fell ill, and not from the date on which the cancer was diagnosed.

The UK has committed to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and plans to be the first major economy to require corporations to report climate related risk and opportunities, but what impact does climate change have on employment law?

The Office for National Statistics has now released information that the UK's 2021 gender pay gap has grown since 2020 but remains smaller than it was in 2019.

Returning to work: a requirement to work full time from the office may be discriminatory against those with caring responsibilities.

On 11 November 2021 it will become law that anyone entering a CQC registered care home (which provides accommodation together with nursing or personal care) must have had a complete course of an authorised Covid-19 vaccine (note that individuals who have been vaccinated with mixed doses of Covid-19 or a non-authorised vaccine will not be considered to be fully vaccinated).

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a Tribunal judgment that a whistleblower who was dismissed for criticising a colleague was not automatically unfairly dismissed.

The SHPS 2020 valuation results were not good news for participating employers who had hoped that, after paying increased deficit contributions from 2019, the deficit in the scheme would have decreased on this occasion.