Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees
On 26 July 2017, the Supreme Court determined that employment tribunal and EAT fees are unlawful. This means that:
- all fees paid since 29 July 2013 must be reimbursed
- fees are no longer payable for future claims.
- The claims that were rejected or dismissed for non-payment of a fee was unlawful and so the claim should be reinstated.
Grandparental leave
The government plans to extend shared parental leave and pay to working grandparents by 2018. Grandparents often take caring responsibilities of their grandchildren – a well-known fact.
Gig economy and the Taylor Review
Trade unions have supported several cases making claims that individuals engaged as self-employed contractors by companies such as Pimlico Plumbers, Uber, CitySprint, Addison Lee and Deliveroo are in fact “workers” or “employees”. The government has yet to announce any new policy decisions following the Taylor Review or the previous select committee inquiries. The outcome of the ongoing joint committee inquiry is awaited.
Zero hours contracts
Recommendations of the government:
- A higher rate of the NMW for hours not guaranteed by the individual’s contract should be considered.
- Zero hours workers should have the right to request a contract with guaranteed hours after 12 months. Larger companies should be required to report on the number of requests received (and those agreed to).
The government has yet to make any policy announcements in response to the Taylor review. In October 2017 a new Commons select committee inquiry started to look at the implications of the Taylor report.
Data Protection
More stringent law on data protection, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is being implemented from 25 May 2018.
Caste discrimination
Section 97 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 amended the Equality Act 2010 to oblige the government to make caste discrimination unlawful. The options being considered by the government are:
- Making an order under section 9(5) of the Equality Act 2010 to cover caste as an aspect of race discrimination.
- Allowing case law to develop naturally. This option would also involve repealing or amending section 9(5) to remove the obligation on the government to legislate.
The consultation closed on 18 September 2017.
Dress Codes
Following the signing up of the petition (by over 150,000 people) set up by a woman who was sent home from work for not wearing high heels, the Petitions Committee and the Women and Equalities Committee published a joint report.
The findings of the Committees were clear on the impact of health and well-being for such a requirement. The report made a number of recommendations relating to (a) reviewing the efficacy of discrimination law in this area (b) raising awareness and improved guidance (c) enforcement.
