Weekly Issue 230

Balancing Act

A report published last week has found that the work-life balance of many workers in the UK has deteriorated as a consequence of the recession.

Cost of religion

Indirect discrimination is potentially justifiable by employers. This is when an employer can show that a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) puts some workers at a disadvantage, if it’s a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. In Cherfi v G4S Security Services Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that employers can rely on cost to justify what would otherwise be an indirectly discriminatory policy.

Cooling off

Under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), certain liabilities pass to the Secretary of State in the event of a company going bust. In Pressure Coolers Ltd v Molloy and ors, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that the transferee was liable for an employee's basic award and notice pay following his unfair dismissal after a "pre-pack" TUPE transfer, not the Secretary of State.