Lucy Duane | Employment Blawg (AKA LabourBlawg)

Lucy Duane

The Ghosts of TUPE: Past, Present and Yet to Come

December 18, 2013

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) protect employees when the business or undertaking for which they work transfers to a new employer by ensuring, amongst other things, that their contracts of employment are automatically transferred. TUPE implements the Acquired Rights Directive (2001/23/EC) (ARD) in the UK. As part of its “Red […]

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Employment Status – Halawi v World Duty Free (UKEAT/0166/13)

November 28, 2013

An individual’s employment status determines their rights, obligations and their employer’s responsibilities. Despite the obvious importance of the question of employment status, it is not an easy one to answer. It is impossible to set down a clear set of criteria that definitely determines an individual’s status as the area is highly fact sensitive. However, […]

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John Lewis’s staff – never knowingly underpaid: the difficulties of holiday pay

August 23, 2013

It is widely reported in the press that the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership has admitted that it has miscalculated holiday pay for at least seven years. As a result the company is to pay out £40m to compensate 69,000 workers next month. The error relates to how holiday pay was calculated. The company had been […]

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CJEU rules in favour of a static approach in Alemo-Herron v Parkwood Leisure Ltd

July 21, 2013

The Court of Justice of the European Union (‘CJEU’) has held that post-transfer changes to collective agreements should not bind a transferee following a Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI/2006/246) (‘TUPE’) transfer, where the transferee cannot participate in the negotiation process. In other words, a ‘static’ approach applies. The issue of whether […]

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Handling retirement and avoiding allegations of direct age discrimination

May 12, 2013

Aged 71, Sir Alex Ferguson has announced his retirement as Manchester United FC’s manager. Today, he watched the Team win at the Theatre of Dreams and lifted the Premier League trophy before he bows out on his 26 year tenure at the Club, next week. Sir Alex’s decision to retire was consensual but rewind a […]

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Commerzbank AG loses appeal

April 28, 2013

On Friday (26 April 2013), the Court of Appeal held that Commerzbank AG (the ‘Bank’) is contractually bound to pay bonuses worth approximately €50m to 104 employees of Dresdner Kleinwort Limited (now part of the Bank). The Court of Appeal judgment can be viewed here. Summary In August 2008, a group of employees were told […]

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Apprentice claim is labelled “a claim which should never have been brought”

April 14, 2013

The 2010 Apprentice winner, Stella English, has lost her claim for constructive dismissal against Lord Sugar’s company, Amshold Group Limited. The Employment Tribunal’s decision can be read here: English v Amshold Group Ltd. It was widely reported in the press that English described her £100,000 a year job as “a sham” and claimed she was […]

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The increasing presence of social media

April 9, 2013

The controversy around Tweets posted by Britain’s first youth police and crime commissioner, Paris Brown, followed by her withdrawal from the role highlights the increasing presence of social media in the recruitment process and in the workplace. Social media and online technology is a fast changing environment which offers many benefits to both our professional […]

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Is obesity a disability?

March 31, 2013

Each year, countless millions of people mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ by unwrapping egg and bunny-shaped chocolates (and ceremoniously scoffing them down): around 80 million Easter eggs are purchased and eaten annually in the UK alone. I too have indulged in a traditional treat (or two) this Easter Sunday. While for many such sugary […]

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Employee Shareholder Status: the latest developments

March 24, 2013

20 March 2013 was an eventful day for the proposed new employee shareholder employment status. The 2013 Budget included further details about the tax treatment of shares that will be acquired by employee shareholders, meanwhile, the House of Lords voted to amend the Growth and Infrastructure Bill (the “Bill”) by deleting Clause 27: peers voted […]

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