Articles by ‘Malcolm Gregory’

The number of zero hours contracts in place across the UK has risen to 1.8million, sparking fresh debate about whether new laws need to be introduced to regulate these types of working conditions.

Regular readers of our employment law bulletins will be aware of the ongoing saga of what to include in holiday pay and how to calculate it.

The recent case involving Jeremy Clarkson’s attack on producer, Oisin Tymon, has inundated the news over the last few weeks, prompting online petitioners to try to persuade the BBC to renew Clarkson’s contract – in spite of the misconduct allegations against him.

In the unlikely event of your key employee throwing a punch at one of his colleagues you may wish to suspend the employee who is being investigated.

The much debated NHS surcharge is expected to come into effect in April 2015. The annual fee will be applicable to all non EEA citizens who are applying for visas under the Points Based System – namely Tier 1, Tier 2 (excluding Intra Company Transfers) Tier 4 and Tier 5. An applicant will have to pay the fee as part of the visa application or extension process. The fee is expected to be £200 per year which is likely to be payable up front at the point of application or extension. The total amount payable will depend on the length of the visa: for example, a Tier 2 (General) migrant making a five year visa application would need to pay the annual amount for all five years up front, which amounts to £1,000 in addition to Home Office visa Application fees. The fee will also apply to any applications from dependents, for example, a spouse or the applicant’s child.

Labour’s leader Ed Miliband has pledged that a future government under his leadership would double the amount of paid paternity leave available to new fathers from two to four weeks.

Caroline Doran was commenting on the proposals, which are being considered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a way of tackling misconduct.

City solicitors Royds staged a mock tribunal yesterday evening. The law firm’s Employment Department hosted the event at the Old Court Room in Lincoln’s Inn at the heart of London’s legal district.

It is understandably very common for employees to put forward detailed defences when faced with allegations of misconduct. Employers are required to make sure that they undertake a reasonable investigation and reach a reasonable conclusion on the evidence – but many are often unsure how far they are required to investigate the defences put forward by the employee.

Business secretary Vince Cable has clashed with the Conservative Secretary of State for Justice over a fall in the number of sexual discrimination cases being heard at employment tribunals.

Following recent developments at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the UK law on collective redundancies could potentially revert to the previous law that existed before 2013.

Bath Rugby and their official IFA and legal partners, Fidelius and Withy King, teamed up to deliver a lively and informative seminar to 40 employers at Farleigh House, Bath Rugby’s elite training facility. The…