Monthly Archives: October 2013

Government releases new Fair Deal Guidance

Posted on October 18, 2013 by

In July 2012 the Government announced that they were going to review and reform the current Fair Deal policy. On 7 October 2013 they released their guidance, with immediate effect, along with their response to further consultation. Background The Fair … Continue reading →

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Direct age discrimination in redundancy scheme is justified by policy objectives

Posted on October 18, 2013 by

Direct discrimination on grounds of age is not unlawful if it is objectively justified (13(2) Equality Act 2010).  In the recent case of Lockwood v Department of Work and Pensions and another the Court of Appeal (CA) upheld the employment … Continue reading →

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Data Protection breach caused “distress”

Posted on October 18, 2013 by

In a recent consumer credit case the Court of Appeal (CA) has awarded an individual £750 in damages under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) for “distress” caused by a breach of the DPA. Mr Halliday had purchased a television … Continue reading →

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Third party harassment provisions repealed

Posted on October 18, 2013 by

On 1 October 2013 sections 40(2) – 40(4) of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) that dealt with third party harassment were repealed. These provisions held employers vicariously liable for third party harassment if an employee had been harassed by … Continue reading →

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Case Law update on redundancy

Posted on October 10, 2013 by

A couple of recent cases have explored the issue of redundancy. We have set out a summary of these below. Readman v Devon Primary Care Trust The EAT concluded in this case that an employee can act reasonably when refusing … Continue reading →

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Right to choose companion is an absolute right

Posted on October 4, 2013 by

In the recent case of Toal and another v GB Oils Ltd the EAT has held that employees have an absolute right to choose their companion, which is only limited by the statutory qualifying criteria, namely that the chosen companion … Continue reading →

Posted in Devonshires, employment, employment law, UK employment | 1 Comment

New fee remission scheme to be introduced next week

Posted on October 4, 2013 by

On 29 July 2011, for the first time, fees were introduced for Claimants bringing claims in the Employment Tribunal. At the same time the Government introduced a fee remission scheme which allowed individuals to apply for a waiver of all … Continue reading →

Posted in Devonshires, employment, employment law, UK employment | 1 Comment