Weekly Issue 249

Tribunal fees - a further kick in the teeth

The government has launched a consultation on the introduction of fees in Employment Tribunals. It seeks views on the proposed charging structure, rather than on the principle of fees.

Materially influenced

Under section 47B of the 1996 Employment Rights Act (ERA), workers have the right not to be subjected to a “detriment” “on the ground that” they made a protected disclosure. In Fecitt and ors v NHS Manchester, the Court of Appeal said that the test to establish whether the protected disclosures had led to the detriment was whether they were a “material factor” in how the employer had treated their employees.

Legal status

The law requires employers to make certain checks to ensure their employees are not working illegally. In Okuoimose v City Facilities, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) said that even if a company has a reasonable belief that an employee is working illegally, that is not a defence to a claim for unlawful deductions of wages if the contract turns out to be legal.