Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK 06b76a46-078a-458e-ac89-bfaf99146fcf Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-Safety-Employment-e-lert-Tis-the-season-to-be This case (commonly referred to as the Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Textile Litigation) concerns liability at for noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) arising from long-term exposure to low levels of noise. At first instance the court held that one of the test Claimants (Mrs Baker) had proved NIHL but dismissed her claim on the grounds that her employer was not in breach of s29 of the Factories Act 1961 or in breach of its common law duty. On appeal the Court of Appeal allowed Mrs. Baker's appeal. The Court of Appeal ruled that s29 of the 1961 Act imposed an absolute duty which was subject only to the defence of reasonable practicability; that the issue of safety of the workplace was to be judged objectively without reference to reasonable foresight of injury. On the issue of "reasonable practicability", the Court of Appeal ruled that average sized employers were in breach of ... 65e3ff8c-7674-41e1-822f-5ff0de1cbd9b Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-Safety-Employment-e-lert-the-winter-of-our Lord Young of Graffham has recently been at the centre of controversy. In October he published his report on Health and Safety law and practice, "Common sense, Common safety". As the Prime Minister's adviser he put forward a series of policies for improving the perception of health and safety. The Government has accepted all of the recommendations put forward by Lord Young. de07b8d1-c2cf-4fa9-baab-b88a9c7470c6 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-Safety-Employment-e-lert-Summertime-and-the Summertime is finally here, in our summer round up of all things health and safety and employment related we cover: the government's move to review health and safety legislation; the vexing issue of liability for social events; e-communications in a health and safety prosecution; REACH; and some interesting developments in the courts and guidance from the HSE. Happy reading and remember to take care of your own personal health and safety in the sun… by the pool…at the barbeque….at the airport… 9c8ee2ea-7eb5-4800-ab92-169f90ed4d9f Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Is-your-organisation-fit-for-the-World-Cup It is that time of year again – the World Cup starts in less than a month, and then there is Wimbledon, test matches and all the other events planned for the summer season of sport. We discuss below strategies for avoiding red cards for unauthorised absences and other own goals. World Cup fever is taking hold again in the UK. Surveys from previous tournaments showed that employees were not averse to calling in sick to watch a match. This year, the Xpert HR survey of 100 HR Directors reveals that 63% of organisations have already made provision for employees to watch games during the World Cup, possibly to address this problem, although a survey of employers generally indicates that not all businesses have taken the lead that perhaps HR professionals have. 8a491727-42b8-4ca1-b9ac-dd9ae94f1241 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/April-s-legislative-changes-to-bloom-or-wither-after-the Various legislative changes came into effect in April 2010, many of which we have covered in previous e-lerts (please let us know if you would like further copies), but for ease, here is a quick summary of the key issues:- aa3a2056-005e-433d-adb5-be0e54a5ff00 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-and-Safety-e-lert-Crowell-1352467 0ab82ade-c904-43d4-a315-90501ec0b68f Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Leading-a-nation-of-bullies In a new book Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been accused of workplace bullying. It is alleged that he has shoved, shouted and sworn at his colleagues. Mr Brown denies the allegations but accepts he can get angry and is determined and strong-willed. 9375cef2-6e59-4dad-92a0-b1f37a0da746 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Sentencing-guidelines-fine-times-ahead-for-bad The Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), the body that sets sentencing bands for criminal offences, has recently issued the definitive guidelines for Corporate Manslaughter and Health and Safety offences causing death. dae1b80a-b514-457e-93fe-02ef532e8a91 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Employment-Law-Risk-Agenda-A-look-at-the-year-ahead a1ae16ac-94d6-4dbc-91b2-142de875d566 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-and-Safety-e-lert-Crowell-1352296 Welcome to Crowell and Moring's latest Health and Safety newsletter. This newsletter includes an element of environmental related issues as well as some wider risk management issues. We hope it will be valuable reading for Health and Safety Managers and Human Resources Managers alike. We would welcome your feedback on what you would like to see in future e-lerts. 1a91d8e3-70ed-4f83-b285-793af62a96dd Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Health-and-Safety-e-lert-Crowell-1352275 Welcome to Crowell & Moring's latest Health and Safety newsletter. This newsletter has an element of employment issues, and therefore we hope it will be valuable reading for Health and Safety Managers and Human Resource managers alike. We would welcome your feedback on what you would like to see in future issues. fc2a4237-510b-4997-b98f-2c7bf98b6a1f Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/April-showers-down-new-employment-regime April and October traditionally herald changes to the legislative regime for employment law. This year is no different, but the April changes are significant. f75231a3-8ddc-495c-b742-51bc6e3d4e2f Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/UK-Employment-Law-Gets-A A number of important decisions have recently been reported regarding the impact of UK employment law outside the UK. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) decided in Bleuse v MBT Transport that different rules on territorial jurisdiction apply to statutory employment claims depending on whether the legislation is primarily a UK concept, or whether the legislation derives for EU legislation with direct effect. In this case, the EAT held that the German lorry driver who worked throughout mainland Europe (but never the UK) was not able to bring claims against the UK registered employer for unfair dismissal or an unauthorised deduction from wages, but he would be permitted to proceed with his claim under the Working Time Regulations. fbe15e7f-ab58-4fa5-96e1-0d6021912f43 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Employee-Monitoring-in-the-Workplace-What-Constitutes In Copeland v. The United Kingdom (2007), the European Court of Human Rights found that the UK had violated Ms Copeland’s right to respect for her private life and correspondence under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the way in which it monitored her telephone calls, email correspondence and internet use. Whilst it should be emphasised that this case related to an employer who had not implemented a policy covering the monitoring of employee communications, the reasoning of the Court highlights that employers should take special care to ensure that appropriate policies are applied fairly and are implemented in the first place. c79400a1-43f7-42c6-ba38-d7b560a833d8 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Legitimate-Restrictions The thorny issue of restrictive covenants has been recently covered by the courts. In the case of Beckett Investment Management Group v Hall the Court of Appeal considered the enforceability of post termination restrictive covenants. The judgment gave some significant messages for those who want to incorporate restrictive covenants in contracts of employment, particularly in the Financial services sector. 64725db7-cb37-413d-a834-e08a2f5f9947 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Smoking-Gun-Workplace-Smoking-Ban-in-the Smoking in enclosed or substantially enclosed public places and work places in England will be prohibited from 6 am on 1 July 2007 under the Health Act 2006. This is not a specific issue to bars and restaurants. Employers that ignore this legislation could face fines or possible criminal charges. de6cf994-83a3-4bf8-8abb-aca0428bb8f3 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/A-New-Horizon A recent survey revealed that one of the most damaging business disputes facing corporations in the UK today is an internal conflict with an employee. The survey found that a typical case can cost £277,000 from beginning to end, although if mediated and resolved in the early stages the cost was around £9,000. b511d5e5-56c2-45ea-bf30-514d0a9af6f2 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/New-Age-Finally-Dawns The second instalment of UK employment-related legislation for 2006 came into effect on 1 October. You will know most of the key features from previous alerts, but we thought it helpful to have brief summary! e9bea459-52c5-491a-9efb-8ca0784ebfd8 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Hot-Spots-For-UK 52e4fe46-69ca-4b6d-8d03-b3d589656e51 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/If-Football-Is-Coming-Home-Are-Your-Employees-Staying-at World Cup fever is taking hold in the UK. Recent surveys have indicated that a significant number of employees called in sick around a world cup match in the last tournament. It is not clear whether this was to watch the match uninterrupted, or as a result of over indulging following the match the night before. ca4ad7f7-2589-4800-a3ff-d64481ea2534 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/TUPE-or-not-TUPE-more-of-a-foresight-saga The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (“TUPE”) have been finalised and are ready to come into force on 6 April 2006. These Regulations stem from a 2001 EU Directive, which the UK was required to implement into domestic law. 96b3601c-2fbc-499f-b93a-3c49378df11b Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Exporting-Ex The highest Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom, the House of Lords, recently handed down a long awaited Judgment on geographical extent of employee rights under the Employment Rights Act 1996. The Appeal arose out of claims by employees for unfair dismissal in respect of work that was partly or wholly carried on outside Great Britain. 23cb70a9-7795-4f35-842b-675639f8835f Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:38:03 GMT http://www.crowell.com/NewsEvents/AlertsNewsletters/Labor-Employment-Law-Alert-UK/Same-Old-Same-Old-Or-New-Age In common with recent years 2005 brought a variety of new employment laws into force as well as introducing wide ranging changes to existing law.