Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Home

Insights

Resources

Blogs

Tinkering around the edges

tinkering around the edges

5 October 2011

The Government has announced that the length of service needed for the right to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim will increase from one year to two, from April 2012. It claims the move will reduce the number of unfair dismissal claims brought against employers each year by 2,000. The move has been welcomed by the CBI, but are unfair dismissal claims by employees with between one and two year’s service really the problem for employers? Of more concern to employers must surely be unfounded allegations of discrimination (for which there is no service requirement), which often require long and costly employment tribunal hearings to defend.

The qualifying period of service for claiming unfair dismissal used to be two years, before it was successfully challenged in Europe in the late 1990’s as being indirectly discriminatory against women. It will be interesting to see if such a challenge is brought following this latest announcement, and whether such a challenge would stand up.

related opinions

Retail ATMs and business rates: clarity at last!

Judgement has been handed down for the seminal case of Cardtronics UK Ltd and others (Respondents) v Sykes and others (Valuation Officers) (Appellants) [2020] UKSC 21.

View blog

Employer obliged to pay settlement despite employees confidentiality breach

In Duchy Farm Kennels Ltd v Steels the employer was found not to have been relieved of its obligation to pay a settlement sum, despite the former employee having breached the confidentiality clause contained in the settlement agreement.

View blog

Furlough scheme extended to October

The Chancellor announced on Tuesday 12th May 2020 that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is to be extended to the end of October.

View blog

Furlough and insolvency – are employees protected?

As more retailers and restauranteurs fall victim to insolvency, the Court of Appeal has confirmed that the contracts of employment of employees furloughed before a company is placed into administration will be treated as having been adopted by its administrators, therefore entitling the employees to “super-priority” status over other creditors.

View blog

View all blogs