A Court of Appeal decision confirms that, where an employer has set out a formal contractual disciplinary procedure, it is bound by the terms of that procedure. In this case, the employee had appealed against the imposition of a written warning and the employer contemplated increasing the severity of that Read more…
Businesses should take note of a First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) ruling which held that the first £30,000 of an interim payment awarded by an employment tribunal to an appellant was exempt from income tax. This was on the basis that the payment arose from termination of employment rather than from Read more…
Employers considering a business reorganisation should take note of an EAT decision which held that an employer failed in its duty to make reasonable adjustments when it did not adjust certain redundancy criteria that placed a disabled employee at a substantial disadvantage. This was despite the fact that the failure Read more…
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that, as at 31 December 2006, a law firm’s mandatory retirement age of 65 for partners was a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aims of workforce planning and staff retention. The retirement age was objectively justified and did Read more…
The First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber) has held that two directors were not directly liable for income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) that their insolvent employer failed to pay to HMRC because the tax and NICs had been “deducted” for PAYE purposes. The decision underlines an important distinction between a Read more…
Employers will welcome a Court of Appeal decision that robustly rejected the idea that they are obliged to make reasonable adjustments for employees or job applicants who are associated with disabled people (in this case, for a non-disabled employee whose daughter has Down’s syndrome). The court held that the reasonable Read more…
Registering residential tenancy deposits Many private residential landlords, particularly those with large tenant portfolios, will be concerned by a recent County Court decision. The court held that, even if the tenancy deposit had been protected at the outset of the fixed term of the assured shorthold tenancy (AST), the registration Read more…
A recent High Court decision provides useful guidance for businesses on how they should deal with the competing rights, legal obligations and interests of the parties involved when providing a reference. The court held that a police force should not be permitted to send a further reference to the new Read more…
Businesses should take note of an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case that highlights the importance of formalising employment relationships. The EAT held that an employment tribunal erred in finding that a director and shareholder, who performed part-time work for a company without pay for at least three years, was an Read more…
Landlords with existing residential leases that provide for a third party to determine the service charge will be concerned by an Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) decision. The tribunal held that a provision in a lease of a dwelling that provided for the apportionment of the service charge by a third Read more…