Employment Law Newsletter – Summer 2024


10th July 2024

It’s been another busy few months, dominated most recently by the general election.

The outcome was perhaps no surprise but with the Labour Government now in place, its New Deal for Working People, provides an indication of the changes ahead for employment rights although we have no other information about timings or details of the proposals themselves at the moment. We also have an idea of the new Government’s immigration policy.

As well as the general election, there have been important decisions on a wide range of issues including the importance of considering redeployment as an alternative to dismissal, whether renewal of a fixed-term contract after four years was objectively justified and whether or not unredacted financial documents should be disclosed in Employment Tribunal proceedings. We have also seen the publication of the CIPD’s Good Work Index 2024 which is an annual benchmark of good work or job quality in the UK.

Please do take a moment to consider the articles in this Summer newsletter, where we provide an update on a range of employment topics and pensions developments.

New Deal for Working People

Wide-ranging changes to employment rights are set out in Labour’s New Deal and these will “deliver the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation”.

Read more

UK Immigration policy – what next after Labour’s landslide victory?

Immigration is always a hot topic and never more so than in the run up to and just after a general election. What is, or could be in store for the UK following the general election?

Read more

Important to consider redeployment as an alternative to dismissal

Many employers are familiar with redeployment in the context of making reasonable adjustments but a recent EAT decision shows that redeployment is relevant to the fairness of a dismissal too.

Read more

Renewal of a fixed-term contract after four years could be justified

Where fixed-term contracts are used for four years or more, the employee becomes a permanent employee unless the employer can objectively justify the renewal, an issue recently considered by the EAT.

Read more

Disclosure of unredacted financial documents ordered

The EAT considers the issues that can arise during the disclosure process, particularly regarding disclosure of information which may harm a party’s case.

Read more

Update on Pensions Dashboards

The aim of Pensions Dashboards is to allow individuals to see their pensions information, including State Pension, at no cost, in one place online, as well as reuniting them with lost or forgotten pensions.

Read more

CIPD Good Work Index 2024

The Index is an annual benchmark of good work or job quality in the UK and the central focus of the 2024 report is conflict within the workplace, which, according to the Index, has largely fallen.

Read more

EAT agrees that a settlement agreement can settle future claims

The Employment Appeal Tribunal upholds the Employment Tribunal’s decision that a claim could be struck out as it had previously been waived in a valid settlement agreement.

Read more

No duty on Pension Fund Trustees to make moral judgments

It is not the duty of Trustees to make moral judgments about the suitability of someone receiving benefits from the Fund, but rather to decide if they fulfil the relevant criteria in the Fund Rules.

Read more

Team news

I am delighted to inform you that Hannah Waterworth in our Cardiff office was recently promoted to Associate. Congratulations Hannah, it is very well-deserved.

Webinar

Thank you to those who attended Blake Morgan’s recent Employment webinar – EDI – what is it, why is it important, and how to implement it?

If you were unable to attend, please click here to view the recording and please feel free to share this with any of your colleagues who might find this content useful. The webinar is part of our Employment webinar forum series and our next webinar will take place in the autumn. Details of the topics and speakers will be circulated nearer the time.

I hope you will find all the articles above informative and helpful, and if you would like any further information please do not hesitate to get in touch with your usual Blake Morgan contact.

In the meantime, best wishes for an enjoyable summer.

Insights and invitations from our Employment team

Register for our business mailings

Sign up here

Enjoy That? You Might Like These:


articles

2 December -
One of the most high-profile measures included in the Employment Rights Bill, published on 10 October 2024, was the proposal to confer day-one unfair dismissal rights. Although the Government has... Read More

articles

29 October -
The high-profile Employment Rights Bill was published on 10 October 2024. There has been non-stop activity since then including the publication of four consultation papers on key aspects of the... Read More

newsletters

17 October -
Following the general election, the new Government committed to publishing its proposals regarding employment law reform within 100 days. With a few days to spare, the Government published the Employment... Read More