Employers should follow the Acas Code on grievances when handling whistleblowing disclosures;  any failure to do so could lead to an uplift of up to 25% to the compensation award for whistleblowing claims.  Employers with separate whistleblowing policies should check they comply with the Acas Code requirements. The EAT in Ikejiaku v British Institute of … Read more

In the recent decision of Lam Sin Yi Sindy v Leung King Wai William [2020] HKCFI 2525, the plaintiff challenged her former employer’s treatment of the termination of employment as a resignation. The decision is a useful reminder of the legal principles in relation to valid notice of termination and the perils of accepting a resignation given … Read more

Regulated individuals may not be able to rely on a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to private messages on social media platforms if the messages suggest a serious breach of professional standards. The Court of Session (Inner House) has upheld a decision that police officers could have had no reasonable expectation of privacy in … Read more

Based on unusual facts, the EAT in Gallacher v Abellio Scotrail has upheld an Employment Tribunal’s decision that a dismissal without any procedural steps or appeal was fair. The claimant employee was one of two senior managers whose relationship had completely and irretrievably broken down, a fact which she accepted. The tribunal found that trading … Read more

As the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) begins to wind down through to 31 October 2020 with increasing levels of employer contribution, more employers are having to consider the issue of redundancies.  Two recent Government announcements will be key to these considerations: new regulations which came into force on 31 July 2020 have changed the … Read more

A recent EAT decision highlights that employers should consider expressly stating that a confidentiality clause in a COT3 or settlement agreement is a condition and/or requiring the repayment of an appropriate amount in the event of breach, particularly if confidentiality is of key importance to the employer. In Duchy Farm Kennels v Steels, the High … Read more

Unlike company directors and others subject to a fiduciary duty, most employees do not have a duty to disclose their own wrongdoing.  However, if an employee dishonestly and deliberately makes untrue statements in order to cover up their own misconduct, this may amount to a fundamental breach of the duty of trust and confidence justifying … Read more

An employee can resign and claim constructive dismissal where the employer fundamentally breaches the employment contract, for example by breaching the duty of trust and confidence;  this can be a one-off repudiatory breach or a series of breaches over time which cumulatively amount to a breach of trust and confidence. The EAT has ruled that … Read more