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An accountant who stole nearly £900,000 from his employer over a 10-year period was ordered to repay £150,000 (the maximum amount of assets available for seizure) and was sentenced to three years in prison. The employee used his illicit gains to...
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A person is regarded as being disabled for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) if they have 'a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day...
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The argument put forward by a farmer that he should retain the family farm after his divorce, because it had been in his family for generations and his wife was aware that it was the family tradition for it to be handed down from generation to generation,...
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The penalties for failure to pay child maintenance, which can be severe, are not affected by the statute of limitations that normally applies to debts. A father who had failed to pay maintenance for several years recently found himself subject to a...
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When senior employees leave a company, the commercial risks presented can be considerable. A recent case on this subject concerned a director who left the company he worked for and then set up in competition with it. The company supplied energy surveys of...
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If a contract of employment is deemed to be unlawful, the courts will not allow either party to the contract to enforce their rights under it. In Hall v Woolston Hall Leisure Ltd. , the Court of Appeal held that contracts of employment are...
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Divorce is rarely a simple process: the financial negotiations can be time-consuming and difficult, particularly if business interests form a substantial part of a couple's wealth. There are certain problems which are particularly relevant to...
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that, for the purposes of Regulation 13 of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), the ‘affected employees’ whose representatives an employer must inform...
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As a general rule, out of court settlements of employment disputes are not legally binding in that they cannot exclude an employee’s right to take the matter concerned to an Employment Tribunal (ET). A formal compromise agreement is one of the few...
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A recent case illustrates that cohabiting with someone else after a divorce may affect any maintenance payments received. In the case, a man who had been ordered to pay his wife £125,000 a year in maintenance succeeded in persuading the...
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The EC Working Time Directive lays down minimum health and safety requirements for the organisation of working time. The purpose of the entitlement to paid annual leave is to enable a worker to rest and to enjoy a period of relaxation and leisure. The...
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With the football World Cup due to start shortly, employers who have not already done so should ensure they have policies in place to deal with any issues likely to arise and that employees fully understand them. Whilst you are under no obligation to make...
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HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are intent on cracking down on employers who fail to pay workers the National Minimum Wage, particularly those who use migrant labour to undercut competitors. To this end, HMRC has established a Dynamic Response Team, made up...
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The Government recently decided to amend the law regarding blacklisting of workers, using powers available to it under the Employment Relations Act 1999 , by prohibiting the blacklisting of workers on account of their union membership or activities. The ...
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The Supreme Court has clarified the role of the courts in child protection cases, as a result of a recent case concerning a baby boy who had been the victim of abuse. The judge in the lower court had concluded that there was a 60...
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In November 2008, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) introduced a new system making it compulsory for migrants from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland to obtain an identity card for foreign nationals (ICFN). Use of ICFNs is being introduced...
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The Government has announced its proposed timetable for introducing legislation that will allow new parents greater flexibility as to how they make use of the statutory period of maternity leave. Currently, fathers who are employees are entitled to two...
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The Government has published guidance for employers on the new right of employees to request time off work for training, which is set to be introduced on 6 April 2010. The right to request time to train was included in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children...
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A ‘super-rich’ husband will be regretting that he shared a computer system with his wife’s brothers after she was able to access the system and extract data from it. The husband challenged her right to the data but the court agreed that she...
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If you are formulating a dress code for employees, it is important not to treat one sex less favourably, if you are to avoid leaving yourself open to claims under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 . However, this does not mean that the provisions for men and...
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When considering who was likely to have caused injury to a child, for the purpose of determining who should have care of the child, the civil or ‘balance of probabilities’ approach is the one that must be taken in all instances. The severity of...
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A London-based German banker has had his claim of age discrimination against his former employer, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), upheld by the London South Employment Tribunal (ET). Achim Beck, 42, joined CIBC in 2007 as head...
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When an employee brings a claim for unfair dismissal to the Employment Tribunal (ET), there is a statutory cap on the amount of compensation payable. However, there is no upper limit to the level of damages that can be awarded when an employee pursues a...
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Millions of Britons could see their credit ratings compromised without knowing it, simply because of the actions of an ex-spouse, says online credit report service Credit Expert. According to the recent report, more than half of those surveyed did not know...
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled ( Cavendish Munro Professional Risks Management Ltd. v Geduld ) that in order to fall within the statutory definition of a protected disclosure under Section 43 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), a...
