Weekly Issue 16 - November 1997

Harrods does not have carte blanche to discriminate

The Court of Appeal has comprehensively rejected arguments that an Industrial Tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear race discrimination complaints against Harrods because the workers involved were not directly employed by the store. The Employment Appeal Tribunal had previously dismissed an appeal by Harrods on the same point.

Strikers not to blame for dismissal

Tracey and Others v Crosville Wales Limited
Times Law Reports (1997) IRLR

Strikers who were sacked while others were selectively re-employed following industrial action are entitled to full compensation for their claims for unfair dismissal the House of Lords has ruled. It ruled that the Industrial Tribunal was not entitled to make a deduction from the compensation because of the individual strikers involvement in the Industrial action.

Indirect discrimination

The European Court of Justice has once again considered indirect discrimination and part time workers rights in two important cases.

Hitting the two year hurdle

Continuity of employment remains important for employees. Many benefits depend on length of service. These may be statutory entitlements - such as the right to claim unfair dismissal or a redundancy payment - or contractual entitlements such as holiday or the amount of severance payments

Injured at work, punished by justice

The Government wants to put in place law reforms that will rob injury victims of some or all of their compensation and make life cheaper for those who cause injury. It wouldn't be a good idea at any time but with injuries and deaths at work rising sharply it now looks positively dangerous.