Employment Law News - 2/3 - Employment Law Advocates

Effective Date of Termination

13-Oct-2010 / Jeremy Howe / No Comments

The decision of the Supreme Court in Gisda Cyf v Barratt decides a point which, in the words of Lord Kerr, has “fundamental implications for any claim for unfair dismissal”. The Claimant had brought a claim which was on its face, out of time. However, the Claimant had not read the letter until four days after it had arrived. The question, therefore, was when was she dismissed? The employment tribunal, EAT, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court were all of ...

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Seldon v Clarkson, Wright & Jakes

28-Jul-2010 / Antonio Chan / No Comments

The Court of Appeal’s judgment in Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes upholds the EAT’s decision that a policy to retire partners at 65 is justifiable as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. One of Mr Seldon’s main points of attack on appeal was that the Tribunal should have focused on whether the rule’s applicability to him was justified rather than the general legitimacy of the policy. The Court’s finding was that whilst this should be considered, it ...

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Age discrimination

28-Apr-2010 / James Medhurst / No Comments

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Homer v West Yorkshire Police, largely upholds the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal in the same case. President Elias, as he then was, had stated that it is not indirect age discrimination to require an employee to have a degree where the time that it would take to study for a degree would take him to his retirement age. The disadvantage to older employees in such a situation is an inevitable ...

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Holiday pay

29-Mar-2010 / James Medhurst / No Comments

The Supreme Court has referred the case of British Airways v Williams to the European Court of Justice to rule on whether it is a requirement of the Directive governing working time for airline pilots and, by extension, the Working Time Directive, for Member States to provide a minimum level of remuneration for periods of annual leave and, if so, how it should be calculated. The suggestion that there is such a requirement arises from a comment made by the ...

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Indirect discrimination

13-Feb-2010 / James Medhurst / No Comments

The case of Eweida v British Airways concerns a Christian woman who was disciplined by her employer for wearing a cross, contrary to its dress code. Her claim has been rejected for the third time, this time by the Court of Appeal. The main point in the appeal is the suggestion by Karon Monaghan QC that a policy can give rise to indirect discrimination even if there is only one person put at a disadvantage as a result. Given the ...

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