Employment Law E-Bulletin

August 2009

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This month's cases in full

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SWINE FLU

With the launch of the National Pandemic Flu Service in England, swine flu and sickness absence have proved to be a cause of major concern for employers this summer.  Media reports still suggest that the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in England are doubling every week and figures published at the beginning of the month suggested that there could be over 100,000 new confirmed cases of swine flu per day by the end of August. 

Despite all the ‘doom and gloom’ forecasts swine flu has not, so far, had the major impact predicted in the media.  However, that is not to say that employers should be complacent.  All those employing staff should undoubtedly review the systems that they have in place to cope with increased levels of absence and should consider conducting risk assessments now in order to establish what, if any, dangers would arise if a member of staff contracted swine flu so that an action plan can be drawn up to be followed in the event that this scenario is realised.  Having said that, there is a real question mark over whether employers need to panic quite as much as the media has suggested.

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CASES

Dismissal by Letter

It is not unusual for employees to be dismissed by letter and this is the approach that we would advocate in all but the most simple of cases in order to avoid accusations that the outcome of a disciplinary hearing had been predetermined.  However, the case of Gisda Cyf v Barratt is an example of when adopting this approach can cause difficulties.

Demotion as Disciplinary Sanction

In the case of London Probation Board v Lee the Probation Board tried to change Mr Lee’s role as a form of disciplinary sanction.  This is an option which we are being asked about on an increasing basis but Mr Lee’s case helps to highlight some of the pitfalls and shows what employers need to consider before deciding to impose that sort of sanction.

Refinement of "Disability" Definition

Finally, we want to draw your attention to an interesting disability discrimination case.  In SCA Packaging v Boyle, the House of Lords have once again addressed and refined the definition of disability as used in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

This month's cases in full

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LEGISLATION

The Government announced earlier in the year that there would be an increase in the amount set for weekly pay in redundancy calculations.  This increase came after pressure from the trade unions who felt that staff were not adequately cushioned by statutory redundancy pay in the current economic climate.  The Government has now confirmed that the increase will go ahead as of 1 October 2009.  As of that date a week’s pay for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy will be increased from £350 per week to £380 per week.  The increase will also apply to the calculation of basic awards in an Employment Tribunal.  However, employers should note that there will be no annual increase in February 2010.

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EVENTS

ACAS Cumbria Employment Relations Forum

Date: Thursday 1st October 2009
Time: 09:30 – 13:00
Location: Rheged Centre, Penrith
Price: £50 + VAT

A healthy and well motivated workforce can make a major contribution to the productivity and effectiveness of a business. This meeting looks at the best practices to maintain the health and wellbeing of employees and how this can impact on employee engagement and business success. John Morris and Katie Sinclair from Burnetts Solicitors  are amongst the speakers.

Contact Sue McAlpine at ACAS for further information or to book your place visit the ACAS website. 

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Annual Employment Law Update

Date: Wednesday 14th October 2009
Time: 15.45pm - 18.30pm
Location: Carlisle Racecourse, Carlisle
Price: £50 + VAT

The programme for the Annual Employment Law Update is currently being finalised, but bookings are already being accepted. 

August 2009