June 2016 news

It’s June and as many days this month felt more like a wet Autumn, at least we have Euro 2016 (if you’re Welsh, we’ll say no more than that) and Wimbledon on the telly! However, if you can take your eyes off the sport for a moment, we’ll try to compete for your attention with our update on HR/Employment law news.  We’ve got an important reminder about the implications of ignoring modern slavery, guidance on the changes to data protection coming our way in the next year or two and confirmation of further reductions in Tribunal claims.

In our case update this month we focus on holiday pay and voluntary overtime, religious discrimination and dress codes and, finally, good news from both the High Court and the Information Commissioner for employers trying to protect confidential information from misuse by rogue employees.

Following the result of the referendum we thought it’s appropriate to remind you of Simon’s blog on the potential employment law consequences of a Brexit vote, which is available here.

What Jo has been doing recently….

In the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of two full hearings in the Employment Tribunal. Some people say that any case getting to the ET is a failure, and when acting for employers (as I was in both these cases) it’s easy to feel that even a win is still a bad result given the irrecoverable time and cost for the business. What I would say is that fear of the ET motivates a lot of HR decisions – sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Knowing from experience that you can go to the ET, you can stand up and give evidence and you can win is a powerful antidote to over-cautious, fear-driven decision making. As in every walk of life, it pays to pick your battles wisely. We can help you to do that, and give you the best chance of a successful outcome.

• Government reforms (1): Modern slavery – don’t ignore it!
• Government reforms (2): Data protection changes – guidance on its way
• Government reforms (3): Tribunal claims – still low
• Case update (1):  Holiday pay – what about voluntary overtime?
• Case update (2): Religious discrimination – dress code
• Case update (3): Contracts of employment – Confidential information