Insights & News
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The Trade Secrets (Enforcement, etc) Regulations 2018, one year on
07 June 2019The UK implemented legislation on 9 June 2018 bringing into force the EU Trade Secrets Directive. This article looks at the impact this legislation has had in the employment context where a claim for misuse of confidential information may now also include a statutory claim for misuse of trade secrets.
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Failing to enhance pay for shared parental leave is not sex discrimination
28 May 2019In an emphatic judgment, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) has ruled that it is not direct discrimination, indirect discrimination or breach of equal pay rights to provide enhanced pay for maternity leave and statutory pay only for shared parental leave.
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Employee ordered to pay over £500,000 in legal costs in a dispute involving breach of restrictive covenants and data privacy
24 May 2019Following a trial in the High Court where an employer was successfully awarded final injunctions to prohibit a former employee from breaching post-termination restrictions (“PTRs”), the losing employee was ordered to pay 90% of his former employer’s legal bill.
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Court of Appeal rules on liability of overseas co-workers for whistleblowing
21 May 2019In an unusual case of whistleblowing detriment brought by an overseas employee against two co-workers also based overseas, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) has ruled that the Employment Tribunal (“ET”) has no jurisdiction to hear the claim in relation to personal liability of the co-workers, because they were outside the scope of British employment law.
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European Court rules that employers must keep records of actual time worked
16 May 2019The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has ruled that employers must keep a record of all hours worked by their workers each day, in order to ensure compliance with the rules on maximum weekly working time and rest breaks.
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UsToo? – Addressing bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession
16 May 2019Earlier this week, the International Bar Association published its report on bullying and harassment in the legal profession. The message is clear – as a profession we are not meeting the highest standards of conduct which are integral to our positions as bastions of the law. We must change within the profession, and take responsibility for driving wider societal change.
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The Good Work Plan - first steps down the path
15 May 2019Following the Government’s “Good Work Plan”, published last December, new legislation has recently been made to implement the first of the proposed changes. This article takes stock of the reforms enacted so far, flags some of the practical issues and sums up what’s still to come.
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EU Commission confirms its views on EWCs and a “no-deal” Brexit
01 May 2019The European Commission (“EC”) has recently revised its March 2018 guidance on the legal repercussions of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU for European Work’s Councils (“EWCs”), including the implications of a “no-deal” Brexit.
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Influencing for Impact – the Law Society report on the need for gender equality in the legal profession
25 April 20192019 marks the 100 year anniversary of women having the right to qualify as solicitors and barristers (as well as serve on juries and act as magistrates).
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Employment status decision – National Gallery experts are workers
23 April 2019Continuing the trend of cases about employment status, a group of expert educators who worked for the National Gallery have been found to be workers by an Employment Judge (“EJ”).
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Removal of outdated contractual entitlement following transfer was not void
09 April 2019The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has upheld a decision that the removal of outdated contractual entitlements following a TUPE transfer was not void, as the sole or principal reason was not the transfer or a reason connected with the transfer
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Ask about… Retail, Fashion & Hospitality
09 April 2019Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked James...
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Pre-transfer dismissal was by reason of transfer and automatically unfair
09 April 2019The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has upheld a decision that the dismissal of an employee immediately before a TUPE transfer was automatically unfair because the principal reason was the transfer. The CA rejected the transferee employer’s contention that the reason for the dismissal was personal to the employee’s circumstances and so unrelated to the transfer.
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High Court construes TUPE indemnity
08 April 2019The High Court (“HC”) has considered whether a TUPE indemnity for employment payments “which fall due” prior to the transfer date included sums whose payment dates had not yet crystallised.
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Outsourcing: TU recognition application against service provider and client thrown out
05 April 2019The High Court has dismissed a judicial review of two decisions of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in relation to outsourced workers based at the University of London. The CAC had rejected applications by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) for recognition for collective bargaining.
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Neurodiversity, autism and the workplace
01 April 2019“Neurodiversity” is a relatively new term, but increasing numbers of employers are seeking to plug their skills gap by developing a more neurodiverse workplace.
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"Play the whistle!" - Whistleblowing in Ireland
26 March 2019It seems that the FAI does not just have to worry about the results on the pitch as the qualification campaign for Euro 2020 kicks off, or the fact that they owed their CEO a significant sum of money (while also paying his rent) some time ago.
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Employees fined for unlawfully obtaining data
25 March 2019It is not just businesses that need to worry about the long arm of data protection, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has warned, after two employees were convicted of unlawfully accessing personal data and fined
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EAT rules in first UK appeal case on European Works Councils
20 March 2019In the UK’s first ever appeal case on European Works Councils (“EWCs”), the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has ruled that a Special Negotiating Body (“SNB”) can continue to exist after the third anniversary of a request to establish a EWC.
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Court of Appeal maintains interim springboard injunction in team moves case
15 March 2019Lewis Silkin has been successful in the Court of Appeal in resisting a challenge to the appropriateness of a springboard injunction secured in the High Court late last year. The injunction relates to ongoing legal proceedings concerning a team move and prevents a number of our client Secarma’s former employees and their new employers from competing and otherwise acting unlawfully.