The Employment Appeal Tribunal has, this month, provided the first precedent setting analysis of the exemption from TUPE for ‘single specific events or tasks of short term duration’. In this case, reported by Alec Bennett, the EAT looked at whether a one-year contract between a coach operator and a school, to transport school children, came within the exemption.
Jodie Sinclair and Laurie Child provide this month’s employment news round-up, including: details of the Government’s new ‘flexible parental leave’ proposals; the latest on the future of the ‘Fair Deal’ pension policy; proposed changes to Agenda for Change contracts; streamlining of dismissal procedures for senior Local Authority executives; and a summary of the new requirements for independent contractors to the NHS.
The Local Government Lawyer, together with leading law firm Bevan Brittan, recently conducted a survey looking at current practice and attitudes to procurement in local government. More than 100 procurement lawyers and other professionals took part in the survey and the results make for fascinating reading. The supplement covers these and other findings from the survey and includes articles from Bevan Brittan looking in depth at a number of the key issues raised.
The Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, announced yesterday (22 November 2012) that 90 projects from over 85 councils have been selected to share in funding from the over-subscribed £250 million Weekly Collection Support Scheme (Scheme). Are you one of the lucky ones? If so, you will need to consider how best to apply any cash awarded from the Scheme from a procurement, legal and VfM perspective.
There is much anticipation and expectation for Robert Francis QC’s report into the Mid Staffordshire Inquiry. The latest announcement of delay in the issuing of the report (which is now due in early January) means that it will not live up to its previous billing by the Health Service Journal as “the most important NHS event of 2012”, but it could well make it the headline act of 2013.
As part of the Infrastructure Costs Review programme, the Government has been working with Ofwat and the water industry to understand the impact and causes of the highly cyclical investment profiles in the water sector. HM Treasury published a report on these findings in July 2012.
If you are a public sector body or a supplier to the public sector you are likely to be very familiar with the current EU procurement rules which play a major part in the tendering of public contracts. But are you aware that the EU is in the final stages of negotiations on a new Public Sector Procurement Directive which will radically change the procurement rules which you have probably spent a number of years getting to grips with?
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has revisited the definition of ‘establishment’ in the context of collective consultation over redundancies – can a school be a separate ‘establishment’ or is the correct establishment an education department? This particular case concerned a local authority, but the principles set out by the EAT around the approach to be taken in defining establishments, are of general relevance. Victoria McMeel reports.
This ‘Halloween edition’ of our employment news bulletin is all treat and no tricks, as Mike Smith explains October’s key developments, including: new social media guidelines; some practical points on harassment from the Employment Tribunal; the new ‘shares for rights’ proposals and an update on draft legislation on equal pay audits and equalities.
When is the obligation to consult on collective redundancies triggered? When an organisation is considering a proposal that will inevitably lead to redundancies (such as complete closure of a workplace); or only when that decision has been made and consequential redundancies are proposed? It had been a settled position since 2007, that consultation should start when an employer has made a firm (albeit provisional) proposal that will result in redundancies; but this had been thrown into some doubt recently and, this month, the ECJ declined to provide some much needed clarity. Julian Hoskins traces the case law developments and summarises where we are now.