It's a fair cop

An organisation employs full-time and part-time workers. The full-timers are overwhelmingly male and the part-timers are overwhelmingly female. Nobody is entitled to overtime pay. Is the employer in breach of equal pay legislation? Read on

Undertakings and Third Parties

For more than 150 years it has been the practice of the court that the "price" for an interim injunction is that the claimant/applicant has to give the court a satisfactory undertaking in damages. We are all familiar too with the principle that, as part of any without-notice application, the applicant is obliged to make full and frank disclosure of all information which it is proper for the court to know. Read on

The Right to Strike and Article 11 ECHR

In 1911 a woman participating in the Massachusetts textile workers strike is said to have carried a placard bearing the slogan "We Want Bread, and Roses too". The slogan became a symbol for the campaign for dignity in work as well as increased pay. The slogans are different but this year strike banners have again been unfurled across Europe and within the UK as workers and trade unions have taken to the streets in protest at public spending cuts. Read on

News

New regulations on cross-border mediations came into force in the UK on 20 May 2011 (SI 2011/1133). The regulations implement Directive 2008/52/EC, 21 May 2008, on "certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters". The aim of the Directive is to "promote further the use of mediation and ensure that parties having recourse to mediation can rely on a predictable legal framework" (paragraph (7) of the preamble). The Directive applies to voluntary mediations in which the parties are free to decide on the settlement of their dispute, as well as Judge-led mediations (where the Judge is not responsible for the particular judicial proceedings relating to the matters in dispute) (paragraphs (10) and (12)). The regulations are designed to encourage mediation in cases where, in summary, one of the parties is domiciled or habitually resident in a different Member State. In such cases, time limits for making employment claims may be extended if the parties have engaged in mediation. Where there is currently a six month time limit, the limitation period may be extended until eight weeks after the end of the meditation. Where there is currently a three month time limit, the relevant period is four weeks.

Tolley's Discrimination in Employment Handbook

We are pleased to announce the second edition of Tolley's Discrimination in Employment Handbook, which is co-authored by members of Blackstone Chambers and Baker & McKenzie LLP. The book provides a practical guide to employment discrimination law. The new edition has been updated to include (among other things) the Equality Act 2010, an analysis of the first cases on age discrimination, including the Court of Appeal in Seldon, the significant developments in relation to disability discrimination post-Malcolm, and new Court of Appeal authority on manifestations of religion or belief. It also includes updated commentaries on the territorial scope of discrimination law, and on discrimination by association/perception.

Diya Sen Gupta Appointment

Diya has been elected to the committee of the Employment Law Bar Association.