April 2024 - Didlaw

The burden of proof in discrimination claims

29 April 2024

Atif v Dolce & Gabbana When assessing evidence in discrimination claims, tribunals are required to use what is commonly referred to as the reverse burden of proof approach. This means that the initial burden of proof lies with the worker. The worker needs to prove that the facts of the case give rise to an […]

Dishonesty might lead to strike out of your claim – beware!

26 April 2024

In Kaur v Sun Mark and others the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the tribunal had been correct to strike out Ms Kaur’s remedy claim because she had either destroyed evidence or been untruthful about doing so. Ms Kaur had been partially successful in claims against the Respondents for sexual harassment, victimisation and discrimination. […]

Protection for whistleblowers – an update

24 April 2024

We know that a dismissal will be automatically unfair if the sole or principal reason for it was that the employee or worker had made a protected disclosure (section 103A of the Employment Rights Act 1996) A protected disclosure is one, made to an appropriate person ”(which is defined by law)” which concerns wrongdoing of […]

Time limits in harassment claims

22 April 2024

As most claimants discover, bringing discrimination and harassment claims can be complicated. Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust v Allen is a case, where the claimant’s win at tribunal was overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) because it believed that the tribunal judge had got the law wrong with respect to two aspects of […]

Increases to the Vento bands for discrimination claims

19 April 2024

What are the Vento bands? Compensation for discrimination is split into two main parts: The Vento bands were originally set by the Court of Appeal in the case of Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (No2) [2003] IRLR 102. They give Tribunals the power to make awards according to the seriousness of the […]

Establishing a continuing act in discrimination claims

17 April 2024

Where a worker feels they have been subjected to discrimination in the workplace, escalation to an Employment Tribunal should be a last resort. Workers will generally try to avoid the costs and stress that Tribunal litigation brings. As a result, many workers will often have suffered from repeated acts of discrimination before they make the […]

Why is there a shortage of young people in the workplace?

15 April 2024

Statistics released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 22 February 2024 revealed a sharp increase in the number of young people out of work. The group covers ages 16 to 24 and are known as NEETs – not in education, employment or training. ONS statistics show that as of December 2023 NEETs make […]

Live-in domestic workers entitled to minimum wage

11 April 2024

From 1 April 2024 employees carrying out domestic work while living on site will now be entitled to the minimum wage. The legislation previously exempted from the minimum wage requirements live-in domestic workers who were not family members. Positive news for live-in employees! The rates for the minimum wage and the living wage have been […]

New code of practice on fire and rehire

9 April 2024

In March 2022, in response to public concern over the use of “fire and rehire” practices to implement changes to employees’ terms and conditions, the Government announced that it would introduce a new Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (the Code). Following consultation with employees, unions and businesses, a draft code was prepared […]