News & Updates

Employment Law May Briefing

In this edition of our monthly employment law briefing we cover

 

  • Discrimination
  • Discipline and Grievance procedures
  • TUPE

 

  

Discrimination Questionnaires

 

In the context of discrimination and equal pay, an employee or job applicant can serve a statutory discrimination questionnaire on an employer.  The questionnaire and reply must be in a prescribed form and both are admissible as evidence in Tribunal proceedings.  The Tribunal may draw inferences from the employer's answers or failure to reply. In a recent Tribunal case the Respondent's explanation for not recording successful and unsuccessful applications according to the applicant's ethnicity was that its computer system did not permit this information to be routinely recorded. The Tribunal decided that as there was no link between the decision that led to the design of the computer system and the decision affecting the unsuccessful applicant, no adverse inference could be drawn.

 

An Encouragement to go Green

  

An American study has found that having pot plants in an office can reduce workers' stress levels and improved their reaction times by 12%. The studies showed that those working in an office containing pot plants performed better than those working in a plant free zone and workers in a green office have lower blood pressure and suffer less from mental fatigue!

 

Age Discrimination

  

The charity Help the Aged has accused the Government of failing to take older people seriously and calls upon it to put ageism on an equal footing with racism and sexism.  It wants the forthcoming Equality Bill to include proposals for legislation against discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services (including health and social care services).  At present Age Discrimination is only unlawful in the workplace.

 

New ACAS Code of Practice

  

ACAS has issued a revised Code of Practice on Discipline and Grievance for public consultation.  This takes into account the changes being made by the Employment Bill (particularly the removal of the Statutory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures).  If you would like to participate you can download the draft Code and contact details at http://www.acas.org.uk/. The Government plan to introduce changes to work place dispute resolution in April 2009 and ACAS anticipate the revised Code will come into effect on the same date. Consultation closes on 25th July 2008. 

 

Computer Hygiene

  

A computer magazine tested 33 samples from office computer keyboards.  One of the keyboards had to be removed immediately when the reading proved to be "off the scale".  Others presented evidence of several bugs injurious to health including E. coli. Most of the contamination was caused by people eating at their desks.  Consider how a dedicated eating area away from work spaces might impact on the sickness absence in your office!

 

TUPE Regulations and the Provision of Services.

  

Workers dedicated to providing services to a particular customer have their employment transferred to a new employer when the work transfers to a new provider, for example on re-tendering or out-sourcing.  In a recent Tribunal case it was decided that there was no service provision change under TUPE when it was not possible to identify which of the new providers had taken over the services of the employer who had lost the contract. The provision of a Legal Helpline service was provided by 18 different employers. Each of them picked up calls at random. One of the 18 employers providing the service, Cornwall County Council, decided not to bid for it.  9 service providers were successful.  The employees of the Council claimed that their contracts had transferred to one of the 9 successful bidders.  The same work was carried out, the only difference was that the number of service providers had reduced by half. The Tribunal decided that as it was not possible to identify which new provider had been allocated the services formally provided by the Council there could be no transfer under the TUPE regulations.

 

The meaning of ‘disabled'

  

A disability is a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on an individual's ability to carry out normal day to day activities.  As has been widely reported, a Tribunal had decided that baldness does not fit this description.  The Tribunal also hinted that other physical features such as height or weight will be similarly treated. 

 

  

For advice or further information please contact:

  

Karen Harvie    

kjh@tcyoung.co.uk or 0131 220 7660

 

  

This e-briefing is intended as a guide and does not provide a comprehensive statement of the law.  Legal advice should be sought on individual circumstances.