Employment Law Update

Welcome

‘Hubris’ has been the watchword of the week – mainly in the context of motor cars/ exhaust emissions/alleged wide-scale fraud. We at DC Employment avoid hubris like the plague (just as we do with cliché). Our motto is ‘humility verging on diffidence’ (or abstrusum ore vestro):

1. We’ve made the Legal 500 again this year as a ‘Leading Firm’ and are the only Hampshire firm to have improved its rating in the employment sector. Still, we don’t want to make a big deal about it (and I do hope our marketing people haven’t sourced a large logo to run alongside this article – that would be really embarrassing). Read more
2. 2015 Chambers Directory has just listed Darren Tibble as a ‘notable practioner’ describing him as specialising in“redundancy, restructuring, discrimination and disciplinary matters, and also has extensive experience in tribunals and TUPE issues. Clients say he is a“brilliant speaker, very quick and very charming.” Read more
3. But there’s more: the DC Employment team has just completed the Alpe D’huez Challenge. Fuelled only by beer (kindly donated by the wonderful Flack Manor Brewery), whinging and a lack of awareness concerning middle aged men in Lycra in public, the Team completed the mountain stages that almost broke Chris Froome in this years Tour de France. Read more

So, with all that modesty and understatement out of the way, on with the news:

Minimum wage changes

From 1^st October 2015, the National Minimum Wage increased for those 21 and over from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour. The rates have also changed for those aged: 18-20 (£5.30 per hour), 16-17 (£3.87 per hour) and apprentices under 19/over 19 and in their first year (£3.30 per hour).

Sikhs and safety helmets

The right to for Sikhs to wear turbans (and be exempted from wearing safety helmets) is to be extended to all workplaces from 1 October 2015. There was an anomaly in the Employment Act 1989 in that the exemption was limited to building sites but was not extended to safer environments. This led to many disciplinary hearings/dismissals following their refusal to remove the turban.

Turban-wearing Sikhs will now be exempt from legal requirements to wear a safety helmet in most workplaces, either as workers or visitors. Attempting to impose the wearing of helmets will amount to discrimination against the individual under the Equality Act 2010.

Employers will still have to assess the risk to workers and make available any necessary protective equipment. However, the decision not to wear appropriate head protection will be one for the turban-wearing Sikh.

If the individual chooses not to wear a safety helmet the employer’s liability for any injury, loss or damage will be limited to the extent that the injury, loss or damage would have been sustained had a safety helmet been worn.

(There are limited exceptions to the exemption e.g. armed forces and emergency response employees).

And Finally…

The Judiciary can be human too you know: I recently read of Sir Alan Ward’s Judgment when deciding whether a businessman who had borrowed too much from several banks should have permission to appeal: “The claimant accordingly engaged management consultants to stave off – and here I must warn myself not to fall into the error of Dr Spooner’s ways – to stave off the warring bankers.”…