Employment UK

  • November 12, 2024

    Gov't Could Get £200B Investment Boost From LGPS Overhaul

    The U.K. could free up £200 billion ($256 billion) for investment in national infrastructure projects by reforming the Local Government Pension Scheme into a Canadian-style megafund, an insurer has predicted.

  • November 12, 2024

    Ex-HR Worker Loses Appeal Over Disability Evidence

    An appellate tribunal has ruled that a former human resources assistant cannot pursue his claims for disability discrimination against a forestry agency owned by the Scottish government, finding that there was not enough evidence to prove his alleged disability of depression.

  • November 12, 2024

    New Defined Benefit Pension Funding Code Goes Live

    A long-awaited funding code for defined benefit retirement savings plans in the U.K. went live on Tuesday, introducing what the pensions minister described as a "stronger set of standards" for the sector.

  • November 11, 2024

    Lawyer Can't Sue Child Abuse Inquiry Members For Bias

    A lawyer for an inquiry into Scottish child abuse has lost his bid to bring discrimination claims against the chair and chief executive of the investigation, as an employment tribunal ruled that he did not benefit from employment protections.

  • November 11, 2024

    Hospitality Industry Group Warns Chancellor Over Tax Plans

    More than 200 leaders of U.K. companies in the hospitality sector issued an open letter Monday warning Chancellor Rachel Reeves that her decision to raise employers' national insurance contributions will harm businesses.

  • November 11, 2024

    Barings Lawyers Cleared Of Misleading Clients In SRA Case

    A tribunal has dismissed a case against two senior lawyers at the consumer finance firm Barings Ltd. who were accused of misleading clients over payday loans claims and sending out letters on behalf of fictional clients, including Mickey Mouse.

  • November 11, 2024

    Bolt Drivers' Win Leaves Open Key Question For Gig Economy

    Victory by Bolt drivers in a legal battle to secure workers' status could cost the ride-sharing platform up to £200 million ($260 million) in compensation for minimum wage underpayments — but Friday's ruling left open an important question: what drivers might be owed if they work for more than one company at a time.

  • November 11, 2024

    Disabled Court Clerk Wins £13K Over Hybrid Work Refusal

    An employment tribunal has ordered the Ministry of Justice to pay a court clerk more than £13,500 ($17,400) for refusing her request to work from home even though she was suffering from long COVID.

  • November 11, 2024

    Part-Time Paralegal Wins £41K Over Disability Discrimination

    A former paralegal at a regional law firm has won more than £41,000 ($52,800) after a tribunal found it had made her redundant because she was unable to work full-time because of her chronic pain disability.

  • November 11, 2024

    Audit Watchdog Floats Updates To Investor Stewardship Code

    Britain's audit watchdog proposed on Monday that it will drop references to the "environment and society" in its standardized definition of stewardship for investors, one of a range of suggested changes aimed at supporting economic growth and transparency.

  • November 08, 2024

    Trades Union Congress Must Pay Staff £14K For Dismissals

    An employment tribunal has ordered a trade union federation to pay £13,939 ($17,992) to two employees it unfairly fired after accusing them of overcharging for voluntary IT services.

  • November 08, 2024

    Dare CEO Said Traders Faking Illness Left Firm 'In Disarray'

    The chief executive officer of an energy investing company told a court Friday that when two of his most senior traders faked illness to avoid noncompete restrictions before jumping ship for a rival, it left the business "in disarray."

  • November 08, 2024

    Postman Wins £39K From Royal Mail For Unfair Dismissal

    An employment tribunal has ordered Royal Mail to pay £38,878 ($50,309) to a disabled employee who accused managers of bullying him after he had made a number of complaints. 

  • November 08, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen collapsed German airline Air Berlin take action against its former auditor KPMG, the associate editor at The Spectator hit with a libel claim by a mosque over the far-right riots that took place in August and British licensing authority the Performing Right Society sue Parklife Manchester and four other festival organizers. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • November 08, 2024

    Squire Patton Steers Standard Life On £250M Pension Deals

    Insurer Standard Life said it has penned £250 million ($324 million) worth of retirement savings deals for two pension plans linked to British safety technology group Halma PLC, in transactions steered by Squire Patton Boggs LLP.

  • November 08, 2024

    Auto Shop Manager Cannot Use Payout Offer In Sacking Claim

    An employment appellate tribunal has tossed a bid by an auto repair shop manager to include his severance package offer in his unfair dismissal claim, finding that the lower court was right to conclude that the company did not mismanage its proposal.

  • November 08, 2024

    FCA Confirms Rules For Commercial Pension Dashboards

    The U.K.'s financial watchdog set out detailed rules for how commercial pension dashboards will operate in the future, but experts say the lack of a fixed launch date could hinder the emerging sector.

  • November 15, 2024

    A&O Shearman Hires Travers Smith's Incentives Chief

    Allen Overy Shearman Sterling said on Friday that it has recruited the head of incentives and remuneration at Travers Smith LLP, the latest exit from the partnership ranks of the London law firm.

  • November 08, 2024

    Bolt Drivers Win Worker Status In Employment Battle

    Bolt drivers are legally considered to be workers, an employment tribunal ruled on Friday in a claim brought on behalf of more than 10,000 past and present drivers for the app that could be worth £200 million ($260 million).

  • November 07, 2024

    Ousted Rape Crisis Worker Critical Of Trans Policy Wins £69K

    A support center for rape victims in Edinburgh must pay almost £70,000 to a worker who was forced out of her role after she faced discrimination and harassment over her belief that sex is an immutable biological characteristic, a tribunal has ruled.

  • November 07, 2024

    Solicitor's Bias Claim Against SRA Dismissed Again

    A solicitor has lost his bid before the Employment Tribunal to prove that the Solicitors Regulation Authority's decision to place restrictions on his practicing certificate were linked to discrimination, with the tribunal saying the lawyer had presented no new evidence to prove his claim. 

  • November 07, 2024

    Black Taxi Drivers Win Race Bias Case Against Council

    Two Black taxi drivers won over 50 race-related claims against the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council when an employment tribunal ruled that officials had discriminated against them because of their skin color.

  • November 07, 2024

    Gowling Steers £70M Building Society Pension Deal

    A building society has offloaded £70 million ($91 million) of its staff pension liabilities to insurer Canada Life, advisers said Thursday, in a deal steered by Gowling WLG.

  • November 07, 2024

    Modern Slavery Reports Hit Record High Of 4,750 In Quarter

    More than 4,750 potential victims of modern slavery were reported to the Home Office in the three months to September — the highest quarterly numbers since records began in 2009.

  • November 07, 2024

    Ex-KWM London Chief Faces Tribunal For Kissing Colleague

    A former managing partner at King & Wood Mallesons' office in London has been referred to a tribunal to face allegations that he engaged in sexually inappropriate behavior, the Solicitors Regulation Authority said on Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • Conflict Minerals Compliance: What To Do Now

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    In the final part of a three-part series on conflict minerals compliance, Michael Littenberg at Ropes & Gray LLP discusses practical compliance tips for this cycle and the next in light of past and expected trends in conflict minerals compliance.

  • UK Modern Slavery Act: Public Shame In The Supply Chain

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    Businesses are increasingly expected to respect human rights wherever they operate. Though light on government regulation, the U.K. Modern Slavery Act is designed to engineer pressure from consumers, investors and the media, which could ultimately be more effective at driving up standards than the threat of legal enforcement action, says Richard Tauwhare at Dechert LLP.

  • New UK Supply Chain Disclosures Apply To US Companies

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    Starting in October 2015, some U.S. companies, including many that already come within the scope of the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, will be required to make disclosures about the steps their supply chains are taking to prevent human trafficking under the U.K.'s Modern Slavery Act, says Michael Littenberg at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.

  • A New Compliance Challenge For Cos. Doing Business In UK

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    On the heels of the U.K. Bribery Act of 2010 — a close copy of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act — the United Kingdom has now taken cues from another novel U.S. enactment, this time the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and delivered its own disclosure regime on the doorsteps of the international business world, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.

  • UK-Based LLP Partners Now Enjoy More Protections

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    The crux of the debate in Bates van Winklehof v. Clyde & Co LLP was whether a partner could be considered a “worker” under U.K. law. The U.K. Supreme Court's holding will have potentially wide-reaching implications for LLPs with U.K.-based partners, say Katie Clark and Sharon Tan of McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

  • Mapping The Revised UK Takeover Landscape

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    The key impact of recent and impending changes to the U.K. Takeover Code for private equity bidders is that a bidder is now required to disclose its plans for employer contributions to the target’s defined benefit pension schemes, including the current arrangements for funding any scheme deficit, say attorneys with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

  • Religious Freedom In The Workplace: UK Edition

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    Recently, four U.K. cases concerning whether each employee had been discriminated against on the grounds of religion culminated in the European Court of Human Rights' decision in Eweida and Others v. the United Kingdom. As demonstrated by these cases, it appears that aims such as the protection of other human rights carry more weight than projecting a certain corporate image, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.

  • 4 Big Changes Coming To UK Private Antitrust Enforcement

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    The U.K. government recently published its response to its consultation on private actions in competition law. If implemented, the proposals to introduce opt-out collective actions and settlement procedures for businesses and consumers as well as a fast-track process are likely to increase significantly the number of claims started in the U.K., say attorneys with Allen & Overy LLP.

  • 10 Tips For An Effective Cross-Border Investigation

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    Multinational employers may find themselves investigating alleged wrongdoing that occurred in more than one nation, and U.S.-based lawyers and human resources executives often coordinate and directly carry out investigations overseas. But before boarding an international flight to interview witnesses or to review personnel files, in-house counsel and HR executives need to understand that the rules are different when it comes to conducting international investigations, says Philip Berkowitz of Littler Mendelson PC.

  • Choice-Of-Law Clauses: Drawbacks For Employers

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    The problem with an employment context choice-of-law clause is that it implicates tougher employment laws of the selected jurisdiction without blocking the mandatory application of tougher employment protection laws. The multinational employer now has to comply with two sets of employment protection laws, rather than just one, says Donald Dowling of White & Case LLP.

  • Spotlight On UK's Changing Employment Laws

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    The U.K. government recently announced that it is consulting on proposals, which, if implemented, will have a significant impact on the U.K. workplace and employment litigation. With these, plus other ongoing bills, proposals, reviews and consultations, it appears that employer-friendly legislation is on the horizon for 2013, says Suzanne Horne of Paul Hastings LLP.

  • Determining Whose Laws Protect Border-Crossing Employees

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    Probably the most common question in international employment law practice is, "which countries’ employment laws protect border-crossing employees such as expatriates and mobile workers?" This question is relevant when arranging any mobile job, expatriate posting or “secondment,” and it becomes vital when a multinational needs to dismiss border‑crossing staff, says Donald Dowling or White & case LLP

  • UK Reforms: A New Era In Criminal Cartel Enforcement?

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    A law before U.K. Parliament, the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, aims to achieve "strong, sustainable and balanced growth" through wide-ranging measures that seek to improve several areas of the law. In particular, the proposed competition law reforms represent a major re-casting of the U.K. regime, say Becket McGrath and Trupti Reddy of Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.

  • Recent Developments In German Competition Law

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    The first half of 2012 saw again significant enforcement activity at the German Federal Cartel Office. The authority prohibited two mergers, imposed fines on three cartels, installed an anonymous whistleblower system, and started the second phase of its food sector inquiry, say Silvio Cappellari and Maria Held of Arnold & Porter LLP.

  • Weighing UK Pensions Regulator's Moral Hazard Powers

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    The question of whether the U.K. Pension Regulator's moral hazard powers are enforceable outside the U.K. arose first in the Sea Containers case in 2008 and, more recently, in the cases of the Nortel Networks’ U.K. DB Scheme and the Great Lakes DB Scheme. The differing approach of the Pension Regulator, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Canadian courts in each of these cases is noteworthy, say Sian Robertson of Greenberg Traurig Maher LLP and David Cleary of Greenberg Traurig LLP.

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