Weekly Issue 471

More fairness equals better health

According to a new study, employees who experience fairness at work report having better health.
Researchers from the University of East Anglia and Stockholm University looked at how perceptions of “procedural justice” - such as the processes that employers use to decide on pay, promotion and rewards - are related to employees’ health.

Flexible start

When claiming a failure to make a reasonable adjustment, claimants have to show that their employer applied a provision, criterion or practice (PCP) which put them at a particular disadvantage, compared to employees who were not disabled. In Appleby v Governing body of Colburn Community Primary School and anor, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that allowing Ms Appleby a flexible start time was not a reasonable adjustment.

Right to work

When deciding whether it is fair to dismiss an employee, tribunals have to consider whether the employer acted reasonably or unreasonably in treating the reason for dismissal as a sufficient reason. In Nayak v Royal Mail Group Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that it was reasonable to dismiss an employee where the employer had a genuine and reasonably held belief that the employee no longer had the right to work in the UK.