This Update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, which have been published in the last month.
This month’s news round-up is brought to you by Alastair Currie and includes the latest news on: TUPE (whether it is ‘static’ or ‘dynamic’); whistleblowing; changes to unfair dismissal as a result of the recent BNP case on politically motivated dismissals; details of new guidance following the recent Eweida case on religious discrimination; and details of new developments on collective redundancy, family friendly rights and settlement agreements.
In a follow-up to our recent alert on the report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry, Julian Hoskins discusses the practical impact of the report on workforce issues, in a Q&A with Carlton Sadler - the Bevan Brittan Senior Associate who led the team advising one of the core participants in the Inquiry, the Care Quality Commission.
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Lockwood v Department of Work and Pensions, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that an enhanced redundancy payment for older workers did not amount to direct age discrimination, when objectively justified by a strong social policy objective. In this case, the strong social policy objective was the provision of a 'financial cushion' for older workers that reflected the extra difficulties they experienced after losing their jobs. George Pennington explains more.
Whistleblowing was a key theme that emerged during evidence presented to the Inquiry; and the circumstances and environment in which staff can effectively raise concerns without fear of reprisals or criticism (whether real or imagined) is of central importance not only throughout the NHS, but for all healthcare providers.
Robert Francis QC’s report into the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry ('the Inquiry') is due to be issued to the Secretary of State in January 2013. The features of good governance which will emerge from the Inquiry are likely to provide valuable learning beyond the NHS and across the entire health and social care sector.
In relation to an employee who was dismissed because he was elected a local councilor for the BNP, the European Court of Human Rights has decided that the UK Government has broken the European Convention on Human Rights, because there of the lack of protection under UK law for employees dismissed on the grounds of their political beliefs or affiliation. This case is important for both private and public sector employers; but has a more immediate impact on public sector employers, because of the potential for public sector employees to bring claims under the Human Rights Act. Anne Palmer reports.
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.
This Update contains brief details of recent Government publications, legislation, cases and other developments relevant to those involved in health and social care work, which have been published in the last month.