Unfair Dismissal: Covid-19

Covid-19 has caused many problems for employers but was it automatically unfair to dismiss an employee who refused to attend work over concerns about the risk of Covid-19 to his vulnerable children? No, held the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the recent case of...

Extension of ban on exclusivity clauses

Regular readers of our news updates and blogs may recall that in 2015 exclusivity clauses were made unenforceable against workers on zero hour contracts. The government is now proposing to extend the ban on exclusivity clauses for workers whose earnings are below £123...

Last Straw Doctrine for Constructive Dismissal

Sometimes, employment tribunals have to decide if there is a serious enough repudiatory breach of an employment contract entitling an employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal. This is often referred to as the “last straw” doctrine. In fact, the...

Should A Disciplinary Procedure Be Contractual?

The answer to the question is that it is a matter of choice for an employer but one which should always be exercised carefully after weighing up the various pros and cons. If an employer makes a disciplinary procedure contractual, it should be able to require...