Weekly Issue 59 - June 2001

Summer holiday for all

R v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry ex parte BECTU, Case C-173/99, European Court of Justice 26 June 2001

BECTU has become the first UK union successfully to challenge the government before the European Court and has secured the right to paid annual leave for workers on short-term contracts.

Spell it out

Lange v Georg Schunemann [2001] IRLR 244

Overtime is a thorny issue - both whether a worker is acting in breach of contract by refusing to work overtime and from the opposite perspective whether an employer is contractually obliged to offer and pay for overtime worked. Often there is a lack of clarity on the position in workers' contracts and statement of terms of employment.

Time's up?

Howlett Marine Services Limited-v Bowlam & Others [2001] IRLR 201

The recent case of Howlett Marine Services Limited v Bowlam & Others, considered the application of the statutory time limit in claims for protected awards where the employer has failed to consult over collective redundancies.

Collective v individual

Henry v London General Transport Services Ltd. [2001] IRLR 132

The issue as to whether a collective agreement applies to all staff was examined in Henry v London General Transport Services Ltd.

Human error - who is to blame?

When there is a disaster, like an aeroplane or train crash, it is not unusual for media reports to attribute the incident to 'human error'. The employee making the error can then expect to be blamed for the whole matter and in some cases vilified.

New Rules OK?

The Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2001

The new Employment Tribunal rules eventually came into force on 16 July 2001 and have immediate effect in all cases regardless of when they were started.

Teachers' action ruled lawful

P v NASUWT (Court of Appeal,9 May 2001)

The teachers' union NASUWT has won an important victory in the Court of Appeal in a case concerning industrial action over a disruptive pupil.