Virtual Conference – Employment Law Update 2020 – Recorded 26th October

KEY SUBJECTS

• REDUNDANCY IN CURRENT TIMES
• DISCRIMINATION UPDATE
• IMPLIED TERMS IN AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT
• HEALTH & SAFETY IN TIMES OF COVID
• VICARIOUS LIABILITY
• TUPE – LATEST POSITION

SPEAKERS

Simon Cheetham QC, Old Square Chambers

Sean Jones QC, 11 KBW

Professor Dominic Regan, The City Law School, London

PROGRAMME

9.30am CHAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION

REDUNDANCY IN CURRENT TIMES

With large reductions in many workforces and changing patterns of work, wide-scale redundancy exercises are likely to become more frequent in the near future.  This talk will look at the legal framework and what makes a redundancy dismissal unfair, as well as considering the recent case law and the rules around collective redundancies.

• Redundancy dismissals – an overview of the legal framework
• Fair or unfair?  What are the practical requirements of a fair dismissal?
• Collective redundancies
• Recent case law
• Remedies

Simon Cheetham QC, Old Square Chambers

DISCRIMINATION UPDATE

Discrimination Law continues to develop apace. Sean Jones QC will get you up-to-date and give you a peek over the horizon at what is coming next. The talk will include:

• The EAT breathes new life into the tribunal’s power to make recommendations: Hill v Lloyds Bank Plc
• The Court of Appeal takes a close look at causation in cases of discrimination arising from disability and reaches a surprising conclusion: Robinson v DWP
• What will the long-term impacts of the Covid crisis be on Discrimination Law?

Sean Jones QC, 11 KBW

IMPLIED TERMS IN AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

There are several important duties which are implied into every contract of employment. The obligations flow in both directions so that employees owe duties to their employer and vice versa. This talk will identify and explore the duties and will include:-

• Providing a safe place of work
• The duty to embrace change
• How an employer must act reasonably
• The duty not to destroy trust and confidence
• Must an employer tell the truth to an employee?
• The fidelity obligation owed by an employee

Professor Dominic Regan, The City Law School, London

HEALTH & SAFETY IN TIMES OF COVID

Covid-19 has brought into focus an employer’s obligations on health and safety and the rights of those in the workplace.  This talk will explore the statutory and regulatory framework and the practical consequences for both employers and workers:-

• Employer’s legal obligations
• What the reasonable employer should do
• Employee’s health and safety rights
• Claims, defences and remedies

Simon Cheetham QC, Old Square Chambers

VICARIOUS LIABILITY

In 2012 the Supreme Court said that the law “was on the move”. It was, and the scope of liability got ever greater. On 1st April this year the law went into a sharp reverse. The judgments in Morrisons and Barclays represent a drastic correction. This talk will take stock of where we are today and explain the guiding principles on liability. Issues to be covered will include:-

• The two core questions to address on liability
• Potential defences
• Liability for workplace violence
• Fraud
• Can an employer ever be liable where the perpetrator is not their employee?

Professor Dominic Regan, The City Law School, London

TUPE – LATEST POSITION

The CJEU’s decision in ISS Facility Services may be the most important TUPE development in a decade. TUPE case law moves quickly and in surprising directions. This talk will give you the insight you need and will ensure you are right up to date:-

• Can an employee be transferred to more than one transferee employer? The CJEU has a surprise for everyone in ISS Facility Services NV v Govaerts
• Has the CJEU quietly overruled Oy Likken AB further extending the scope of the Transfer Directive? Grafe v Sudbrandenburger Nahverkers GmbH
• Are post-transfer variations void even if they benefit the transferring employee? Ferguson v Astrea Asset Management

Sean Jones QC, 11 KBW

5.00 pm CLOSE OF PROCEEDINGS

 

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