Blog
From garage to unicorn – Employment law lessons for scaling tech teams
Catherine Bourne
14 January 2016
What would a Brexit mean for UK employment law?
The prospect of a Brexit can no longer be ignored. David Cameron is currently planning to seek reform of the EU and an in/out referendum is to be put to the UK by the end of 2017. Some reports suggest that previous strength of business opposition to a Brexit is waning. Alongside sections of strong euro-scepticism within the public, it seems inevitable that employers and employees must begin to think about potential changes to UK employment law and what any such changes could mean for them.
8 January 2016
Case update: Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) summarises principles regarding mitigation of loss
In the case of Cooper Contracting Ltd v Lindsey, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (the “EAT”) dismissed an appeal challenging the compensation awarded to a former employee following a successful unfair dismissal claim. When considering this appeal, the EAT set out a number of important principles that should be considered when deciding whether or not a former employee has properly mitigated their loss.
7 January 2016
Senior Managers and Certification Regime: rule changes required
With the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime fast approaching the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has on 6 January issued a consultation paper on the technical rule changes required in advance of 7 March 2016. The changes proposed reflect the removal of the requirement on firms, as set out under section 64B(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), to report known and suspected breaches of the Rules of Conduct to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
18 December 2015
Strengthening accountability in banking: FCA issues final rules for UK branches of foreign banks
With the advent of the Senior Managers and Certification Regimes soon upon us, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a policy statement that sets out the final rules for the application of the new accountability framework for individuals working in the UK branches of overseas banks (incoming branches). Accordingly the position in relation to the application of the Senior Managers Regime (SMR), Certification Regime (CR) and Conduct Rules to incoming branches and their staff is now clear.
17 December 2015
Red card for the referee. A warning for employers when giving and taking up references
The recent case of Pnaiser v NHS England and Coventry City Council highlights the dangers for employers of deviating from agreed written references and giving additional, but contradictory, verbal comments on a former employee. The Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (“EAT”) decision also makes it clear that potential new employers should be wary of revoking any offer of employment if there is a suggestion that a verbal reference may be influenced by discrimination.