Weekly issue 113 - July 2006

In the News

Following the publication of a consultation document on worker safety by the Health and Safety Commission, the TUC has produced a briefing document to encourage health and safety reps to give their views.

Age of Unreason

The law currently states that employees over the age of 65 do not have the right to claim unfair dismissal or redundancy pay.

Automatically Unfair...except for Polkey

The Polkey rule (that a dismissal is fair, whether or not the employer followed a fair procedure, because the employee would have been dismissed anyway) was partially reversed by section 98(A)2 of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996.

Breach of Procedure

At virtually the same time that the employment appeal tribunal (EAT) was coming to its decision in Alexander and anor -v- Bridgen Enterprises Ltd, another EAT had come to a different conclusion.

A Brief Overview of Compromise Agreements

By law, workers cannot agree to contract out of the rights that they have for bringing tribunal claims in the event of a dispute with their employer.

Flying Visit

The 1981 (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations (better known as TUPE) give protection to employees in the event of a transfer of an undertaking from one employer to another.

Politics of Race

The Race Relations Act 1976 (RRA) applies to anyone discriminated against on the basis of their race, ethnic or national origins, colour or nationality (defined as "racial grounds").

Working Hours

Although the Working Time Regulations (WTR) came into force in October 1998, they did not take effect in the air transportation sector until 1 August 2003.