Weekly Issue 662

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and SSP

Further to the news that statutory sick pay will be paid from the first day of sickness, the government has now announced that it will also be temporarily available to people who cannot work because they have been told to self-isolate (…).

Date of disability

The law says that to qualify as a disabled person, claimants have to show (among other things), that their impairment had a substantial effect on them for at least 12 months or was likely to. In Tesco Stores Ltd v Tennant the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that as Ms Tennant’s condition only had a substantial effect from 6 September 2017, this was the date when she became disabled, although most of the allegations occurred before then (…).

Employer motive

The law protects workers from suffering a detriment (or disadvantage) as a result of blowing the whistle. The Court of Appeal has held in Jesudason v Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust that tribunals should not focus on the employer’s motive in telling their side of the story when deciding whether the worker has suffered a detriment or not (…).