Weekly Issue 654

Negative impact of inflexible working

After surveying more than 3,000 parents across the UK, the charity Working Families has found that the “always-on” culture is overwhelming many families (...).

Hearing evidence

Tribunals have a discretion to hear discrimination claims that are outside the usual three-month time limit if it is just and equitable to do so, for instance as a result of conduct “extending over a period”. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Caterham School Ltd v Rose held that, before deciding whether a number of acts of discrimination extended over a period of time, tribunals must hear evidence and make findings of fact (...).

Mental processes

Although tribunals are required to focus on the “mental processes” of the decision-makers in a dismissal, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held in Cadent Gas Ltd v Singh that there are still situations where the motivation and knowledge of a person who is not the decision-maker can be attributed to the employer. That is the case even when the decision-maker was unaware of that motivation and knowledge (...).