Employment issues
The Employment Rights Bill, which passed its final parliamentary hurdle in December 2025 and received Royal Assent on the 18th. The new Act represents the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. Once implemented, this legislation will fundamentally reshape the relationship between employers and workers across England, Scotland, and Wales, introducing sweeping … Read more
Employee Rights at State Pension Age: Comprehensive Protection from Forced Retirement and Age Discrimination The fundamental legal position is clear: you cannot be forced to retire simply because you reach state pension age in the UK. Since the abolition of the Default Retirement Age in October 2011, the law provides robust protection against age discrimination … Read more
UK Workplace Temperature Regulations: From Minimum Standards to Maximum Heat – A Legal Analysis of Climate Adaptation in Employment Law The Office Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 established a crucial precedent by setting a minimum workplace temperature of 16°C for office work, representing one of the earliest statutory recognitions that workplace temperature directly … Read more
UK Age Discrimination Cases from Harassment to Commissioner to Protect Older Worker’s Rights, reported in 2024 Age UK ordered to pay £4,000 after losing age-related harassment case – Age UK was fined for harassing an older worker during a job application process, resulting in a £4,000 compensation for injury to feelings. Age UK fined £4,000 … Read more
Here are some of the most significant age discrimination cases reported in the UK in 2023: Eileen Jolly vs. Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital1: An 89-year-old NHS secretary, Eileen Jolly, became the oldest person in the UK to win an age discrimination claim. Her superiors at Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital fired her, claiming that she was … Read more
Employers have to be extra careful when dismissing employees. Even if employees have committed acts of gross misconduct, dismissing them may be unreasonable. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made this remark in a case where a store supervisor was sacked for smoking on company premises. The woman worked for a national retail chain which took a … Read more
Harpur Trust v Brazel Earlier this year, the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) released a guide that outlined the requirements for school and academy trusts to deal with complaints. The guide contained a case study based on the recent case of Harpur Trust v Brazel, which provides an interesting background to the issue and … Read more
Age Discrimination in the UK The law protects employees from discrimination based on their age in a number of ways. Age discrimination, also known as compulsory or justified retirement age, is one such practice. It can occur when an employer does not respect an employee’s age, whether it’s directly or indirectly. Justified retirement age The … Read more
The outbreak of coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) is having a significant impact on the ability of businesses to perform their contracts. As of 03 March 2020 there have been 2809 cases reported and 56 deaths. It is very likely to get much worse in the UK before it gets better. Businesses have to be … Read more
A zero hour contract is just as it sounds, a contract with zero hours or to put it another way, a contract with no guaranteed hours of work. In other words workers are not guaranteed any hours of work whatsoever from an employer/agency. Zero hour contracts are widely used in many sectors including the public … Read more
