April, 2013 | LabourBlawg

April 2013

Work Zone Safety for Business Owners

April 28, 2013

In large cities, such as New York City, it’s hard to avoid and ignore ongoing construction projects.  With crowded streets, sidewalks and tall buildings in close proximity of one another, business owners may find a construction project right outside their doors.  As a business owner, there are many things to consider, such as the safety […]

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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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Time to simplify auto-enrolment (and you can help)

April 27, 2013

When it was announced as part of Lord Turner’s 2005 report on the future of Pensions, auto-enrolment was heralded as a lifesaver. It would save the economy, it would help people save for their own future, and it would be… complicated. Everyone knew it would be complicated, and even at this late stage, where larger […]

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HSBC announces further job cuts

April 23, 2013

HSBC have announced further cuts in its drive to structure its UK operations. HSBC announced on Tuesday that it would be looking to implement up to 3,166 job cuts in the UK, mostly from its wealth management division. The announced cuts are part of HSBC’s continuing attempts to drive down costs in its three-year cost-cutting […]

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Flexible Working: Flexing your Muscle

April 23, 2013

In its Children and Families Bill, published on 5 February 2013, the Government committed to extending the right to flexible working for all employees. The Right to Request scheme, which currently only applies to those with children under 17, relatives and some carers, will allow everyone to ask their employer for flexible hours if they […]

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Which Age Group Suffers Most From Ageism?

April 23, 2013

(Guest post regarding the age groups which suffer most from ageism). When we think of ageism, often the seemingly harmless jokes about the diminishing faculties of the elderly or the recklessness of inexperienced youth are what come to mind. With the rising tension of an uncertain unemployment climate, ageism is becoming increasingly noticeable in the […]

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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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Government Changes To Streamline Employment Tribunal Process

April 11, 2013

The Government is introducing changes that they say will streamline the employment tribunal process. Jo Swinson, the employment relations minister, has announced that changes will make the tribunal process easier for employers to understand and will ensure that the whole process is not only more efficient but will also get rid of weak claims. She […]

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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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Protected conversations and compromise agreements

April 8, 2013

“Protected conversations” are one of the key employment law proposals that the Government is seeking to introduce this summer, along with the introduction of fees to the Employment Tribunal, the reform of the Employment Tribunal procedure, the re-naming of compromise agreements to settlement agreements, and compulsory pre-litigation conciliation. We’ll take a look at protected conversations […]

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