The Supreme Court ruled that laws designed to protect workers from discrimination did not cover volunteers unless they had a contract or were undergoing vocational training. The case had been brought by a volunteer legal advisor who alleged that she had been discriminated against because of her disability.
Source: X (Appellant) v Mid Sussex Citizens Advice Bureau and Another (Respondents), UKSC 59 (2012), United Kingdom Supreme Court
Links: Judgement | Cloisters press release | Cloisters briefing | Volunteering England press release
Date: 2012-Dec
The coalition government responded to a consultation (lasting just three weeks) on its plans to allow employees to give up certain employment rights in return for tax-free company shares. It acknowledged that only 'a very small number of responses' welcomed the scheme, but said that it would proceed with it anyway.
Source: Implementing Employee Owner Status: Government Response to Consultation, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Response to consultation | IER press release | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Notes: Consultation document (October 2012)
Date: 2012-Dec
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that it would proceed with its plans to cut the notice period before large-scale redundancies could take place from 90 days to 45.
Source: Collective Redundancies: Government Response to Consultation on Changes to the Rules, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Response to consultation | Impact assessment | Hansard | DBIS press release | BCC press release | CBI press release | IOD press release | TUC press release | Work Foundation blog post | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Notes: Consultation document (June 2012)
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper examined the effects of reduced employment protection for temporary jobs in European Union countries. Legislative changes had contributed to instability of working conditions and caused negative effects on workers' pay. These impacts more than counterbalanced the scanty positive effects on employment (greater access to the labour market for young people and women), thus leading to a decrease in income share accruing to workers.
Source: Mirella Damiani, Fabrizio Pompei, and Andrea Ricci, Labour Share and Employment Protection in European Economies, Department of Economics, Statistics and Finance, University of Perugia (Italy)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Dec
An article examined attempts to reduce employment benefits in developed (OECD) countries over the period 1985 to 2008. It found that strict employment protection was quite compatible with more spending on active labour market policies and unemployment compensation.
Source: Jose Aleman, 'Active or passive? Reforming employment benefits in the OECD', Review of European Studies, Volume 4 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A new book examined how far standard work full-time, permanent employment for a single employer continued to influence labour law structures in several representative European Union member states (including the United Kingdom). It considered whether member states were actively dismantling legal structures built up around standard work and, if so, what was driving this, and what the effects of such changes might be.
Source: Jan Buelens and John Pearson (eds), Standard Work: An Anachronism?, Intersentia
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the construction of the concepts of 'vulnerable workers' and 'precarious work', and their implications for the regulation of workers at the bottom of the labour market. It assessed how far the concepts had aligned themselves with the discourses of economic efficiency, social justice, and human rights that underscored much of modern theorizing on the value and use of labour law.
Source: Lisa Rodgers, 'Vulnerable workers, precarious work and justifications for labour law: a comparative study', E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, Volume 1 Number 3-4
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined the causes and extent of the vulnerability of the British workforce, whether employed or unemployed, following the financial crisis of 2008. It focused on the health risks to which the workforce was exposed, and questioned the extent to which employers, trade unions, and the government could alleviate the situation. It considered what the government was doing to assist and encourage unemployed people into work, suggesting that some responsibility needed to rest with the workforce itself.
Source: Brenda Barrett, 'Who can help Britain s vulnerable workforce?', E-Journal of International and Comparative Labour Studies, Volume 1 Number 3-4
Date: 2012-Nov
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill was given a third reading. The Bill included plans for an Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. The employment tribunal system would be reformed by providing more options for the early resolution of disputes through the statutory arbitration and conciliation service. Company shareholders would be allowed a binding vote on the remuneration of directors.
Source: Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TSO | Debate 17 October 2012, columns 327-444, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2012-Oct
The coalition government began a 'consultation' (lasting 3 weeks) on a proposed scheme under which new employees could exchange some of their employment rights for tax-free shares in the business they worked for. Under this new type of contract, employees could be given £2,000-£50,000 of shares that were exempt from capital gains tax. In exchange, they would give up their rights in relation to unfair dismissal, redundancy, and the right to request flexible working and time off for training. They would also be required provide 16 weeks' notice of a firm date of return from maternity leave, instead of the usual 8. The scheme was included in the Growth and Infrastructure Bill.
Source: Consultation on Implementing Employee Owner Status, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | HMT press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | People Management report | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Oct
A new book examined a range of alternative regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to the enforcement of individual employment rights. It considered factors affecting variation in the extent to which legal rights had meaning and impact at the workplace.
Source: Linda Dickens (ed.), Making Employment Rights Effective: Issues of enforcement and compliance, Hart Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Oct
The coalition government announced a series of measures designed to cut 'employment law red tape' and to give firms 'more flexibility and confidence' in managing their workforce. The measures included reducing the cap on compensation for unfair dismissal claims, and making it easier for judges to dismiss 'weak' employment tribunal cases. But plans to introduce laws allowing compensated no fault dismissal were dropped.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 14 September 2012, columns 17-19WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DBIS press release | BCC press release | CBI press release | TUC press release | Unite press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Independent report
Date: 2012-Sep
A study examined legal and other forms of employment protection in Europe for workers in more flexible forms of work and in smaller companies in situations of restructuring.
Source: Eckhard Voss (with Katrin Vitols, Anna Kwiatkiewicz, and Nicolas Farvaque), Employment Protection of Workers in More Flexible Forms of Work and in SMEs in the Context of Restructuring, European Commission
Date: 2012-Aug
The report was published of an independent review (led by Nicholas Underhill) of employment tribunal procedures. It made a number of recommendations designed to streamline the process, improve understanding, and cut costs.
Source: Fundamental Review of Employment Tribunal Rules, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Letter | Hansard | DBIS press release
Date: 2012-Jul
The coalition government announced (following consultation) that fees would be introduced for applications to employment tribunals and the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
Source: Charging Fees in Employment Tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal, Ministry of Justice
Links: Response to consultation | Impact assessment | Equality impact assessment | IER press release | IOD press release | TUC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the perceptions and experiences of vulnerable employees who attempted to use the employment tribunal system to resolve disputes. Tribunals, and the mediating role played by Acas, produced barriers to justice for vulnerable employees. The role played by Citizens Advice was critical in reclaiming labour law's public law function.
Source: Nicole Busby and Morag McDermont, 'Workers, marginalised voices and the employment tribunal system: some preliminary findings', Industrial Law Journal, Volume 41 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A new book examined the mandate by which the European Union constrained domestic competences to regulate access to labour markets (such as through the prohibition of certain forms of discrimination). It identified an 'EU public-social order approach' – a set of norms imposed by EU institutions on domestic authorities in the performance of a task with social implications. It assessed the effectiveness of this approach as a tool to increase economic efficiency, advance distributive justice, and ensure protection of dignity.
Source: Elise Muir, EU Regulation of Access to Labour Markets: A case study of EU constraints on member state competences, Kluwer Law International
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jul
The European Court of Justice ruled that a worker who became unfit for work during their paid annual leave was entitled at a later point in time to a period of leave of the same duration as that of their sick leave.
Source: Asociacion Nacional de Grandes Empresas de Distribucion (ANGED) v Federacion de Asociaciones Sindicales (FASGA), and Others, European Court of Justice
Links: Judgement | ECJ press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2012-Jun
A trade union report said that as many as 1 in 4 people working in public services – around 1.2 million in total – were employed by contractors. These 'hidden' workers were often trapped in low-paid, insecure jobs where being badly treated was a normal part of working life. Many were migrant workers.
Source: The Hidden Workforce, Unison
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Jun
The coalition government began consultation on proposals to 'reform' the rules for consulting staff about large-scale redundancies. The 90-day minimum period for large redundancies (over 100 staff) would be cut to 45 or 30 days.
Source: Collective Redundancies: Consultation on changes to the rules, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DBIS press release | IER blog post | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Jun
A new book examined employment security systems, with a specific focus on job-to-job transitions for redundant employees, in four European countries: Sweden, the United Kingdom, Austria, and Spain.
Source: Irmgard Borghouts-van de Pas, Securing Job-to-Job Transitions in the Labour Market: A comparative study of employment security systems in European Countries, Wolf Legal Publishers
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jun
The coalition government announced (during the second reading of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill) plans to facilitate the use of 'settlement agreements' between employers and employees. Under the plans, employers would be able to offer agreements for getting rid of employees before a formal dispute arose, and would be legally protected from this offer being used as evidence in an unfair dismissal tribunal case. Employees would continue to enjoy full protection of their employment rights, and could choose to reject the offer of a settlement agreement and proceed to a tribunal.
Source: Debate 11 June 2012, columns 64-137, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | DBIS press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | Citizens Advice press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Jun
The Queen's Speech set out the coalition government's legislative programme for 2012-13. It included plans for an Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. The employment tribunal system would be reformed by providing more options for the early resolution of disputes through the statutory arbitration and conciliation service. Company shareholders would be allowed a binding vote on the remuneration of directors.
Source: Queen's Speech, 9 May 2012, columns 3-5, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | Cabinet Office briefing | CBI press release | Fawcett Society press release | IER press release | TUC press release (1) | BBC report
Date: 2012-May
An article examined the evolving relationship between the concept of discrimination in international labour law and the socio-economic phenomenon of inequality at work. Although non-discrimination was initially understood as a fairly limited legal principle mandating equal treatment for similarly situated individuals, it subsequently expanded to address indirect discrimination resulting from apparently neutral rules, standards, and practices at work. It had expanded further to take on group-based patterns of inequality at work related to the structural constraints of the market, the family, and community life, ultimately resulting in convergence between anti-discrimination law and legal initiatives to reduce class-based socio-economic inequality and poverty.
Source: Colleen Sheppard, 'Mapping anti-discrimination law onto inequality at work: expanding the meaning of equality in international labour law', International Labour Review, Volume 151 Issues 1-2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A paper examined the effect of dismissal regulations in developed (OECD) countries on different types of gross worker flows. The more restrictive the regulation, the smaller was the rate of within-industry job-to-job transitions, in particular towards permanent jobs. By contrast, no significant effect was found as regards separations involving an industry change or persistent joblessness. The extent of reinstatement in the case of unfair dismissal appeared to be the most important regulatory determinant of gross worker flows.
Source: Andrea Bassanini and Andrea Garnero, Dismissal Protection and Worker Flows in OECD Countries: Evidence from cross-country/cross-industry data, Discussion Paper 6535, Institute for the Study of Labor (Bonn)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-May
The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill was published. It included measures to improve the employment tribunal system (by encouraging parties to come together to settle their dispute before an employment tribunal claim is lodged), and to give shareholders of quoted companies binding votes on directors remuneration.
Source: Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | DBIS press release | Acas press release | CBI press release | IOD press release
Date: 2012-May
The report was published of a government-commissioned review of employment protection law. It recommended that:
Employers should be allowed to sack workers without having to show that the dismissal was fair – so-called 'compensated no fault dismissal', with compensation capped at £12,000.
All businesses with fewer than 10 employees should be allowed to opt out of a range of employment law, including unfair dismissal, pension auto-enrolment, the right to request flexible working, and flexible parental leave.
Charging a fee for employees who applied to an employment tribunal should be introduced as soon as possible.
The consultation period for collective redundancies should be cut to 30 days.
Source: Adrian Beecroft, Report on Employment Law, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Report | Hansard | DBIS press release | IER press release | Labour Party press release | Unite press release | Guardian report
Date: 2012-May
A paper mapped the labour law reforms in various European countries that had been triggered by the global economic crisis. Such reforms generally rendered existing labour law provisions more flexible and loosened minimum standards, shifting the emphasis to soft law (deregulation). The paper highlighted the lack of democratic foundations underlying the reforms, and their negative impact on fundamental social rights and workers' protection.
Source: Isabelle Schomann and Stefan Clauwaert, The Crisis and National Labour Law Reforms: A mapping exercise, Working Paper 2012.04, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Apr
An article examined the way in which the legal systems in Europe and the United States of America resolved the tension between protecting the rights of religious employers and the labour law rights of their employees. The complexity of the competing rights arguments had led each jurisdiction to some solutions that were not optimal, and each could learn from the other in working towards more nuanced methods for resolving these legal disputes.
Source: Carolyn Evans and Anna Hood, 'Religious autonomy and labour law: a comparison of the jurisprudence of the United States and the European Court of Human Rights', Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Volume 1 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined the system of employment tribunals, and the options for reforming it. Far from bringing 'flimsy' cases, two-thirds of claimants succeeded at the hearing. Average awards were just a few thousand pounds – scant consolation for loss of employment and often serious psychological suffering.
Source: David Renton, Struck Out: Why employment tribunals fail workers and what can be done, Pluto Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
The government began consultation on proposals to reduce the complexity of statutory dismissal procedures. A business would be able to dismiss a worker from a micro-business, where no fault had been identified on the part of the employee, with the payment of a set amount of compensation.
Source: Dealing with Dismissal and Compensated No Fault Dismissal for Micro Businesses: Call for evidence, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | DBIS press release | CBI press release | CIPD press release | REC press release | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Mar
A report said that many workers in Scotland were being exploited by employers who felt that they could treat people unfairly because of the recession. It called for the establishment of a Fair Employment Commission in Scotland, to guard against abuses and protect workers' rights.
Source: Keith Dryburgh, Fair Employment: Why Scotland s workers need a Fair Employment Commission, Citizens Advice Scotland
Links: Report | CAS press release | STUC press release | BBC report
Date: 2012-Feb
A report said that workplace inequalities had increased significantly across Europe as a result of the global economic crisis, and would continue to do so as more and more countries introduced austerity measures and labour 'reforms'.
Source: Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead (ed.), Work Inequalities in the Crisis: Evidence from Europe, International Labour Organization
Links: Summary | ILO press release
Date: 2012-Feb
A report examined the British debate over Europe's role in determining employment and social rights. It explored the extent of European Union involvement in employment and social protection compared with national action; the relationship between the single market and EU employment and social law; the balance between the role of the European Commission and the European Court of Justice; and contentious issues such as the working time and agency worker Directives.
Source: Adam Hug and Owen Tudor (eds.), Single Market, Equal Rights? UK perspectives on EU employment and social law, Foreign Policy Centre
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the interrelationship of labour law and employment policy at European Union level in the light of recent political and legal developments.
Source: Lisa Rodgers, 'Labour law and employment policy in the EU: conflict or consensus?', International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations, Volume 27 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A paper examined the development of research into 'employment precariousness' (also referred to as non-standard or atypical employment) in European countries.
Source: Jean-Claude Barbier, 'Employment Precariousness' in a European Cross-National Perspective. A sociological review of thirty years of research, Working Paper 2011.78, Centre d Economie de la Sorbonne (Paris)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan