Former Chief HR officer is awarded £101,373 at tribunal, almost 8 years after the original tribunal hearing, over sex discrimination and unfair dismissal claims. The court ruled that the company discriminated against her based on sex, after her performance was rated ‘partially achieved’ without conducting a proper year-end review. It was found that her gender influenced this, as her male counterparts' performance reviews were handled differently, which meant she received a

At the Employment Tribunal, it was found that a rail worker's dismissal due to the use of medicinal cannabis may have been disability discrimination. The employee (AB) had haemochromatosis and used prescribed medicinal cannabis to help reduce chronic pain. He was offered the job with the employer, conditional on passing a drug and alcohol test. During AB’s test appointment, he advised the nurse that he was prescribed medicinal cannabis and showed her the prescription via

The Ministry of Justice has recently published the annual Employment Tribunal (ET) Service statistics for the period 2025/2026, and they demonstrate the pressure that the ET system is currently facing. The key points of note from the latest statistics are set out below: How many single ET claims (that is, an ET claim raised by an individual) were raised in 2025/2026? During 2025/2026 the ET received 50,000 single claims and disposed of 26,000 of that caseload during that per

As you may be aware, HMRC recently announced an increase in UK mileage rates for work-related driving. Why do I have to pay my drivers in respect of mileage claimed for work related travel? Employers are not under a legal obligation to reimburse employees at a particular rate in respect of business mileage, but employees may be able to claim tax relief on any shortfall between the approved mileage rate and the level at which their employer reimburses them for the miles driv

A disabled glass maker has been awarded £392k compensation at the employment tribunal after being unfairly dismissed and spied on by his employer during sick leave. The tribunal heard that the employee, AB went on sick leave after he had developed neuropathy, which is a chronic condition linked to side effects of earlier cancer treatment. AB’s employer had become concerned that whilst he was on sick leave, he was completing work for another company, so they instructed a s

The government has laid before Parliament new regulations regarding the ACAS early conciliation regime. From 1 December 2025, the Government intends to double the early conciliation period from six weeks to twelve weeks. This extended window will apply to all claims where early conciliation is commenced on or after that date. Who is ACAS? ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is an independent and impartial public body that is mandated to assist

The following four consultations have been launched by the Government on new rights and protections that will be introduced by the Employment Rights Bill ( the Bill ): Right of trade unions to access workplaces This consultation considers the new right of access for trade unions whereby they will have the statutory right to access workplaces physically, and to communicate with workers digitally and in person. The rationale behind this new right is that it will allow tra

The Employment Appeal Tribunal ( EAT ) has decided that an Employment Tribunal ( ET ) erred in finding that sexual harassment that...

An employee who resigned after being replaced whilst on sick leave for treatment for breast cancer wins £1.2m A senior manager was...

As has been widely reported, and as explained in our previous blog, the UK Supreme Court recently provided clarification on the legal...

The Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers last week, which...

Our MD, Caroline Wood has been asked to contribute to an article run by Sky News about what it's really like being in HR - of course she...

The Government has announced the normal inflationary increases to various statutory rates of pay in the Employment Rights (Increase of...

In a recent case , the Employment Tribunal (ET) found that an employer’s failure to provide an employee with a safe place to express...

A number of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill (the Bill) are to be considered at the report stage in the House of Commons. Four...

It’s been another interesting few months regarding cases being lodged at the Employment Tribunal, with a variety of issues ranging from...

Following the passing of the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act back in May 2023, the Government Department for Business and Trade has,...

The Department for Work and Pensions has recently published its planned increases to many statutory payments with effect from April 2025....

The Employment (Allocations of Tips) Act 2023 and the Code of Practice on Fair and Transparent Distribution of Tips came into force on 1...

The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has recently confirmed that the National Living Wage (which is currently the top rate of National...