Law at Work - April 2019

Features

Government announces abolition of agency workers loophole and progress on Good Work Plan

New regulations coming into force in the next year will end the right to pay agency workers on certain contracts less than comparable permanent staff, and introduce new rights to statements of particulars for all workers.

Suspending employees: why you should avoid a knee-jerk reaction

What should employers consider when deciding whether or not to suspend an employee, and if the employer decides it is necessary to do so, how should employees be treated during this period?

Case law update

Failure to provide rest breaks under Working Time Regulations entitles employee to personal injury damages

Workers have a minimum right to an unpaid rest break of 20 minutes when working for more than six hours per day. In this case, the EAT awarded damages for personal injury as compensation for an employer's failure to permit a worker to take rest breaks.

Unfavourable treatment due to employee's mistaken belief was not discrimination arising from disability

An employer had not discriminated against an employee because of something arising from her disability when it gave her a final written warning for refusing to work in what was not, but she perceived to be, a colder work space because she held a genuine but mistaken belief that those working conditions would adversely affect her condition.

Agency workers have right to be paid equalised rates

Agency workers have a right to benefit from the same pay as direct employees. The hirer of the agency workers was liable to pay compensation directly to the workers even though it had already paid the arrears to the agency, which had not passed on the money to the workers.