Weekly Issue 224

News in brief

Following the repeal in 2009 of the statutory procedure for dispute resolution in the workplace, Acas has published research evaluating the effectiveness of its replacement code on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Agreed compromise

In certain circumstances, terms can be implied by a court into a contract of employment. In Garratt v Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) the Court of Appeal said that the contract contained an implied term specifying that the employer would only pay an enhanced redundancy payment if the employee signed a compromise agreement.

Independence guaranteed

Section 77 of the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) sets out the requirements for a compromise agreement to be valid. In McWilliam and ors v Glasgow City Council, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that the solicitors engaged by the Council to provide advice to potential claimants were capable of acting as independent advisors.