Welcome back to the latest edition of our ‘Need To Know’ employment and HR newsletter. In this edition we look at the Supreme Court ruling that Asda staff can compare themselves to high paid distribution staff, new employment law changes taken place early April and a ruling that provide clarification for employers who require sleep-in staff.
We also have included our usual HR Bullets – which cover the most significant key case law updates from the past month. Below are some of our key articles:
- Equal Pay: The Supreme Court rules that Asda retail staff can compare themselves to higher paid distribution staff
- Sleeping on the Job
- New Employment Law Changes from 6 April 2021
HR Bullets
- Where an employee or worker takes holiday, but is not paid for it, they are not entitled to payment in lieu on termination where the claim would otherwise be out of time. (Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd)
- In an equal pay claim, a request for disclosure of comparators’ contracts, job descriptions and pay was not a “fishing expedition”. (Tesco Stores v Element)
- There is no sex discrimination where an employer pays a man on shared parental leave less than a woman on adoption leave. (Price v Powys County Council)
- Radical approach to TUPE transfers: where a TUPE service provision change involves multiple transferees, the contract of employment of a transferring employee can be split between them, with the individual’s tasks being divided between the transferee employers. (McTear Contracts Ltd v Bennett & Ors)
- The Ministry of Justice’s quarterly Employment Tribunal statistics for the last quarter of 2020 reveal that the number of claims lodged by single applicants increased by 25% between October and December 2020 compared with the same quarter in the previous year. This was most likely in response to rising unemployment caused by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with redundancies and changes in working conditions. The statistics revealed that the most common claim was ‘Working Time’. (MOJ Tribunal Statistics (quarterly) – October to December 2020)
- The Department of Health and Social Care has published guidance on COVID-19 employer testing duties for those that require staff to travel regularly across UK borders. It outlines the reasonable steps employers must take to facilitate the taking of tests by employees. (Coronavirus (COVID-19): employer testing duty)
- The Government has published the draft Employment Rights Act 1996 (Protection from Detriment in Health and Safety Cases) (Amendment) Order 2021 which will confer on workers the right not be subjected to a detriment for leaving, or refusing to return, to their workplace in circumstances where they reasonably believe it would put themselves or others in serious or imminent danger, or for taking steps to protect themselves. It will apply to detriments taking place on or after 31 May 2021. (The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Protection from Detriment in Health and Safety Cases) (Amendment) Order 2021)
- The Government has made new COVID-19 regulations that enabled a wide range of businesses to re-open from 12 April 2021. These include outdoor hospitality businesses, non-essential retail, self-contained holiday accommodation, indoor sports and leisure facility centres and close contact services. (Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps and Local Authority Enforcement Powers) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021)