The Government has announced that it has accepted the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission on the rates for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) that will apply from 1 October 2012. The rates are as follows: The adult hourly rate…

When deciding a reasonable adjustments claim under Section 4A of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (now replaced by the Equality Act 2010), the Employment Tribunal (ET) must identify the relevant provision, criterion or practice (PCP) and then identify whether or…

A recent tribunal case highlights the importance for employers of educating their employees about the implications of writing inappropriate or offensive comments on social media sites. The Northern Ireland industrial tribunal held that the dismissal of an employee for making vulgar comments about…

The Supreme Court has held that a law firm had identified legitimate aims (staff retention, workforce planning and dignity) that could potentially justify its compulsory retirement of a partner at the age of 65. The case will now return to the…

Businesses are likely to welcome an ECJ ruling  indicating that prospective employers are not obliged to provide information about their recruitment process to an unsuccessful candidate. The ECJ decided that EU discrimination law did not entitle an unsuccesful job applicant…

Under Section 94(1) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), an employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed. Whilst the legislation does not contain any geographical limitation, it is agreed that the scope of the right must have…

With only a few months to go before the London 2012 Olympic Games commence on 27 July 2012, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) has issued guidance for employers on some of the issues that might arise. For example,…

  Employers who are making employees redundant and intending to use compromise agreements should note that from 6 April 2011 the operation of PAYE changes in relation to payments made after an employee has been issued with their P45. From…