Lees Solicitors - Employment Law in 2010 - Matt Smith

Employment Law News

Employment Law in 2010 - Matt Smith


Employment Law in 2010 - Matt Smith

In this article Matt Smith of Lees Solicitors LLP summarises expected developments in Employment Law for 2010.

The Equality Bill

The Equality Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in April 2010 and to come into force in October 2010.

The Bill will bring together all existing discrimination laws in one piece of legislation making the law on all the various forms of discrimination more consistent. There will also be a number of changes to existing discrimination laws. For example, it will become unlawful to discriminate against a person based on association or perception. So it will not, for example, be lawful to discriminate against an employee on the basis that they are a carer for a disabled person (associative discrimination), or for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of the employer's perception of the employee's age even if that perception is mistaken.

Fit Notes

In 2009 the Government held a consultation on the proposed replacement of sick notes with fit notes. The new fit notes aim to provide greater information to employers on the employee's condition. GPs will be required to state whether a patient is fit for work, fit for some work or fit for no work. The forms will also ask GPs to comment on whether adjustments can be made to aid an employee's return to work.

Time off to train

On 6th April 2010 employees in organisations with 250 or more employees will have a right to request unpaid time off work to undertake study or training once they have completed 6 months' employment, provided that the training will improve both their effectiveness at work and the performance of the employer's business.

Paternity leave and pay

The Government plans to introduce additional paternity leave for parents of babies born on or after 3rd April 2011. The Labour Party plans to allow the transfer of leave from mother to father but the Conservative Government would go further to allow both parents to take paid time off simultaneously.

Retirement age

There is a strong possibility that the Government will increase the default retirement age from the current age of 65 in the near future. The Government has brought forward its research project on the default retirement age from 2011 to 2010.

Case law

A number of interesting decisions are due from the higher courts in 2010.

Grainger Plc and others v Nicholson

In November 2009, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a Tribunal's decision that a belief in a manmade climate change was capable of constituting a philosophical belief for the purposes of the Employment Quality (Religion and Belief) Regulations 2003. Under the regulations it is unlawful to discriminate against an employer on the grounds of their religion or belief.

The case will now proceed to a full hearing in the Employment Tribunal to determine whether Mr Nicholson adhered to his alleged philosophical believe and whether the employer did indeed discriminate against Mr Nicholson on the grounds of his philosophical belief when they dismissed him.

Eweida v British Airways Plc

The Court of Appeal will hear an appeal against the decision of the EAT in this matter on 19th and 20th January 2010. The EAT had previously found that the employee in this case was not subjected to indirect discrimination. The EAT held that BA's uniform policy did not put Christians at a particular disadvantage as the wearing of a visible cross was simply a personal decision and not a requirement of the employee's Christian faith.

R (on the application of G) v The Governors of X School and another

This case was heard in 2009 but the judgment of the Court of Appeal is due to be released early in 2010. The school was appealing against a High Court's decision that a teacher was entitled to legal representation at a disciplinary hearing. Under current legislation, employees are only entitled to be accompanied by a trade union representative or a colleague at a disciplinary hearing. However, the High Court decided that the employee had a right to legal representation under article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights because if the allegations against him were upheld, his employer would report him to the Secretary of State on the basis that he was unfit to work with children.

If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this article or any other employment matter, please call 0151 647 9381 and ask to speak to Matt Smith of the Dispute Resolution Department.

Matt Smith

 

This article provides a summary of a recent case/change in law/news item. It is intended for general information purposes only and is not to be relied upon. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated under any circumstances as a substitute for legal advice. Lees Solicitors LLP does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance upon the information contained within this article. The copyright in this article is owned by Lees Solicitors LLP and permission must be sought before reproduction or publishing.


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