Tag: employment tribunal

EAT decision on use of incorrect EC number on Claim Form

July 23, 2019, By
Incorrect legal documents

In the case of E.ON Control Solutions Limited v Caspall, the Claimant attempted to bring a number of claims against the Respondent, the Claimant’s previous employer. The Claim Form wrongly stated the EC number for a different Claimant, who was also bringing claims against the Respondent and who was also represented by the same solicitors as the Claimant.

A Preliminary Hearing was convened in order to consider whether the Claimant’s claims should be allowed to proceed. The Employment Judge (EJ) noted that the claim had not been rejected and decided that it was open to the Claimant to apply to amend his claim to include the correct EC number. The EJ considered that there would be no prejudice to the Respondent in allowing the amendment and that the error could be easily corrected.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) disagreed with the Employment Tribunal. It considered that having submitted a Claim Form with an inaccurate EC number, there was an obligation on the EJ to reject the claim and return the Claim form to the Claimant, explaining why it had been rejected and explaining how he could apply for a reconsideration. This did not happen but the EAT considered that this did not mean that the obligation to reject the claim ceased to apply. The EJ had a duty to reject the claim and had the EJ done so, there would no longer have been a claim before the Tribunal that could have been amended by the exercise of the EJ’s case management powers. The EJ therefore had erred in purporting to allow an amendment to a claim that ought to have been rejected.

Can You be Dismissed for Your Social Media Activity?

July 8, 2019, By
Social media rights in work

From blogs to business forums and social gaming to social networks, it is hard to escape social media, with some commentators predicting that, by 2021, at least one third of the world’s population will be active users.

Despite this, many are unaware of the potential legal implications of social media use, particularly upon their employment. Social media or internet misuse may be misconduct amounting to a potentially fair reason for an employee to be dismissed by their employer.

In an effort to understand what may or may not be acceptable social media use from an employer’s perspective, it is useful to examine how the courts have dealt with dismissals due to social media or internet misuse.

Private or Public Usage?

Case law shows that it is possible for an employer to fairly dismiss an employee for conduct outside of work, including an employee’s use of social media.

The courts have seen many employees who have been dismissed by their employers due to “private” social media use claiming that their dismissal was not fair because the post or comment made was done so on a private social media account that only friends can see.

Unfortunately, the very fact that an employer knows about a social media post and uses it as a reason for dismissal has, in the eyes of the courts, often negated the argument that the post was private.

Even if the social media use takes place on the employee’s own computer outside of work, the key issue for employers to consider regarding whether it is appropriate to discipline or dismiss an employee as a result of this is whether or not the employee’s social media post damages or has the potential to damage the employer’s reputation.

Using Social Media in Work

Due to social media still being relatively new phenomenon it can be hard for both employers and employees to know where they stand when using social media.

A common problem for many employers is employees’ social media usage affecting their productivity and work rate. This is why more employers are adopting a zero tolerance approach to the usage of social media during working hours, whether it be by implementing social media and internet policies or blocking access to social media platforms on work networks.

If you’re trying to find out where you stand with social media usage in your place of work, you should find out whether your employer has a policy in place relating to the use of social media.

Using Social Media Outside of Work

Although many employees don’t think twice about using social media outside of working hours, this is when disciplinary actions now commonly arise.

When you set up your social media accounts, it is important to consider whether or not you state your place of work on your profiles. Having the name of your employer clearly visible on your profile details means that you are a self-stated representative of that employer; in simple terms this means that any comments, posts or opinions that are viewed in a negative light could seriously affect the reputation of the employer.

If your employer can prove that these comments had or were likely to have a negative effect on its reputation, it may be within its rights to take disciplinary action against you, which could even include summary dismissal.

Overall, social media use in the workplace can be hard to understand due to it being a grey area for many businesses; not least because a business itself may heavily rely on social media platforms for things like advertising and business development. There are not always defined acceptable use policies which can assist employees and employers alike in dealing with social media use and misuse.

If your work life has been negatively impacted by the use of social media and you’re unsure whether there is anything you can do, get in touch with our employment law specialists who can help you find out more and support you through the claim process.

Employment Tribunal Statistics

June 13, 2019, By
Employment statistics update

13 June 2019 saw the release of the Employment Tribunal statistics for January to March 2019 inclusive, which showed again a steady quarter-on-quarter increase in claims presented to the Employment Tribunal compared to the same period in 2018.

Single Employment Tribunal claims – receipts, disposals and caseload outstanding – all increased, by 6%, 22% and 39% respectively, compared to a year ago. Multiple Employment Tribunal claims – receipts and caseload outstanding – rose, 13% and 19% respectively, while disposals fell by 16%.

From the launch of the Employment Tribunal fee refund scheme in October 2017, three months after the abolition of fees in July 2017, there were 22,000 applications for refunds received and 21,700 refund payments made to 31 March 2019, with a total value of £17.3m.

Given the increase in claims presented to the Employment Tribunal and the vast number of applications for fee refunds, heralding an almost unprecedented workload for the Tribunal, it is perhaps unsurprising that adjournments and postponements of cases increased 5% and 13% respectively in 2018/2019 compared with 2017/2018, with rises seen across all tribunals where the information is recorded.

Rather interestingly, the most common jurisdictional complaint disposed of between January to March 2019 was for unauthorised deductions from wages, which would include claims for holiday pay; the very type of claim that the Supreme Court heard from workers were cost-prohibitive prior to abolishing Employment Tribunal fees in July 2017.

The statistics continue to show a renewed willingness of workers to pursue their employment rights within the Employment Tribunal now that there are no fees associated with bringing a claim and that each party, in general, will bear its own costs.