14 May 2008

Employment - September 2007

 

This month’s edition includes articles on:  Age discrimination – recent cases; employment law issues arising from social networking; extending probationary periods and forthcoming legislation, including the Racial & Religious Hatred Act 2006 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

 

Age discrimination – Recent cases

Paul McFarlane provides a summary of recent cases on Age discrimination.  The cases include a low award for a discriminatory retirement; a “Heyday”- based case struck out; and an employee fairly dismissed following invalid request to work beyond 65. Paul McFarlane discusses a number of recent cases on Age discrimination.

Facebook - Employers’ friend or foe?

With so many social networking websites available on the internet such as MySpace, Bebo and Facebook, many employers are faced with the dilemma of either imposing a total ban on use of such websites or providing employees with access to the website during their lunch break. Laura Kearsley explores the employment issues arising from social networking.

Extending probationary periods

In Przybylska v Modus Telecom Limited,the EAT indicated that in order for an employer to effectively extend an employee's probationary period, it needs to be done in accordance with the terms of the contract.  Paul McFarlane comments on the case of Przybylska v Modus Telecom Limited.

Legislation pipeline

Weightmans maintains a regularly updated schedule of forthcoming employment-related legislation. Paul McFarlane provides a summary of forthcoming legislation, including the Racial & Religious Hatred Act 2006 and the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

This update does not attempt to provide a full analysis of those matters with which it deals and is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice. Weightmans LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance on the information in this update. The copyright in this update is owned by Weightmans.