Glasgow Employment Law Blog

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Industrial Action to go Ahead at CalMac

The RMT Union has confirmed that it’s workers at CalMac will take industrial this week as a result over pay, conditions, pensions and potential job losses.

From Wednesday, there will be a ban on all staff working overtime with a 24-hour strike beginning on Friday. One of the main reasons for the strike was due to staff feeling like they were caught “in the crossfire” in a bidding war for the routes used by the ferry service. CalMac and private firm Serco are involved in a bidding war for a new contract for services to the west coast islands that are currently operated by CalMac.

Members voted for industrial action with more than 90% of the ballot favouring going on strike.

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HSBC to cut 8,000 Staff to Reduce Costs

HSBC are to make more than 8,000 staff members redundant in a bid to reduce costs and restructure the bank.

The bank, which currently employs more than 48,000 employees in the UK will make cuts in both its retail and investment banking operations, however, HSBC insist that with a staff turnover of more than 3,000 people, many of which are natural, they will look to keep redundancies and settlement agreements to a minimum.

In a statement by chief executive Stuart Gulliver, the changes and motivations for the cuts were revealed. He said: "We recognise that the world has changed and we need to change with it. That is why we are outlining the following strategic actions that will further transform our organisation.

“The 10-point plan aims to cut costs by up to $5bn (£3.25bn) and increase investment in Asia - particularly in China.

"Asia [is] expected to show high growth and become the centre of global trade over the next decade. Our actions will allow us to capture expected future growth opportunities."

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B&Q Face Employment Tribunal Over Unfair Dismissal

An 82-year-old grandad and former soldier has had his unfair dismissal empoyment tribunal case against DIY giants B&Q adjourned until July after he was dismissed for keeping his till open for three minutes.

Ivor Smith was dismissed for leaving his till open for over three minutes at the Parkhead store in the East End of Glasgow, although he did not leave it unattended. The former staff member claimed to have been counting £200 in cash and wanted to check it was accurate. However, he was ushered from the building due to the incident following 12 years of employment with the company.

Following what he described as being treated “with utter contempt” Mr Smith opted to take legal action against his former employer.

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Glasgow City Council Criticised Over Use Of Zero Hour Contracts

According to newly published figures, the number of people working for Glasgow City Council working on zero hour contracts has risen by 18% in a year. The numbers have led to severe criticism of the council with the organisation having “no contractual obligation to provide work".

The number of people on zero hour contracts now working for the government has risen to 1,689 people, up from 1,436 in the previous year.

The vast majority of those working for the council work in the employment sector with exam invigilators, classroom assistants and supply teachers all working with zero hour contracts.

As well as having some staff on such contracts, many of the city council’s “at arms length organisations” operate using zero hour contracts. Glasgow Life and Cordia both employ people on zero hours contracts, with the vast majority working in the hospitality and the "sports service" sectors.

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What is direct discrimination?

Most people are unsure of the law relating to discrimination and when discrimination will be unlawful. The most common type of discrimination is direct discrimination. Direct discrimination occurs where a relevant person such as your employer  treats you differently because of who you are. 

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Wage Loss Claims – Frequently Asked Questions

What is an unlawful deduction?

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What is a wage loss claim?

It is essential that employers are open and honest about explaining payment to employees. Under the law, employees must receive the agreed pay for work they have undertaken in accordance with their employment contract and conditions of employment.

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What is an equal pay claim ?

Employers are under an obligation to treat men and women equally under the terms and conditions of their employment contract if;

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When will my dismissal be fair?

There are certain things you will be required to prove for your unfair dismissal claim to be successful. This post looks at the various aspects of an unfair dismissal claim that are necessary for a claim to succeed.

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The Process of Entering into a Settlement Agreement

Being approached by your employer about a settlement agreement can seem daunting – especially if you are unsure of the process of entering into such an agreement. This guide aims to give an overview of the settlement agreement process to help answer the all important question: what happens now?  

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Assessing which Employees are Suitable for TUPE Transfer

The recent case of Costain Limited v Armitage and ERH has reaffirmed that time spent working on an outsourcing activity determines neither whether TUPE applies nor whether an employee does or does not transfer. 

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Changes in Fathers Employment Rights to Attend Ante-natal Care

In effort to encourage the involvement of fathers with their children from the earliest possible stages, the Government has introduced increased access for them to attend their child’s ante-natal care. Effective from 1st October, fathers and partners will have the right to take unpaid time off work to attend two antenatal appointments.

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Changes in Fathers Employment Rights to Attend Ante-natal Care

In effort to encourage the involvement of fathers with their children from the earliest possible stages, the Government has introduced increased access for them to attend their child’s ante-natal care. Effective from 1st October, fathers and partners will have the right to take unpaid time off work to attend two antenatal appointments.

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Unlimited Holidays - Branson Extends Flexible Working Concept for Virgin Employees

Richard Branson’s recent blog post, Why we’re letting Virgin staff take as much holiday as they want, announced the introduction of a ‘(non) policy’ for parent company employees - essentially leaving them to decide when and for how long they will take annual leave.

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Concerns About Rise in Older Workers

Employers estimate up to a third of their staff would struggle to continue in their current jobs past traditional retirement ages, according to recent research by MetLife Employee Benefits.

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Fee System for Employment Tribunals Failing

The Ministry of Justice published figures 11 September 2014, which give compelling evidence that the fee system for employment tribunals acts as a barrier to access to justice. 

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Employees Willing to Negotiate Rather Than Go to Employment Tribunal

More than one in ten employees are willing to strike a compromise deal with their employer when they have a grievance rather than go to an employment tribunal.

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Government Consultation to Close Loopholes in Zero-hour Contract Proposals

Business Secretary Vince Cable has this week launched a consultation into how best to tackle the problem of zero hour contracts. Cable is asking businesses, unions and individuals to help highlight and close potential ‘loopholes’ in the governments plan to outlaw the use of exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts.

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Women in the Boardroom: the Legality of All-Women Shortlists

As a general rule, women are underrepresented in most high paid or high profile professions. While many people believe that this problem will correct itself overtime, for others, positive discrimination is required to catalyze that change.

Positive discrimination involves giving disadvantaged groups who face discrimination in everyday life, such as women, the disabled or ethnic minorities, favourable treatment on the basis of their protected characteristic. An example of this is all-women shortlists for jobs, whereby all the candidates are female and the success of a woman is guaranteed.

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The Employment Appeals Tribunal Reserves Judgment on Non-Contractual Overtime and Holiday Pay

The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) chose to reserve judgment in three important cases last week relating to holiday pay.

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