Greetings
As we write this our mild autumn is starting to feel closer to the cold of winter. Hats and scarves at the ready. This month we bring you news of an redundancy case that was claimed to be unfair, and challenged on appeal following the ET's ruling in the employee's favour. Then we bring you separate appeal case related to sickness absence management where an employee was dismissed after he refused a return to work plan. The ET might have found in his favour - but what did the Appeal decide? As we're heading for Christmas party time, it would be remiss of us not to point out the risks so that you can take measures to avoid them. Unfortunately, for some businesses it won't be just party, party, party; afterwards it will be grievance, grievance appeal, and an ET claim. We have some good news - we're repeating our 20% off Winter Warmer offer - linked to this, we'll be donating to Help for Heroes. Our Diary section, as ever, has key dates. November's Top Tip focuses on dealing with possible alcohol misuse, particularly in the coming season. We hope our Thought for the Day brings you thought to success - always a boost (and we think it's the first time this year we've got a horse in there, however tenuously!).
Regards
Employment Appeal Tribunal substitutes an ET's decision following mistakes
Redundancy is not easy with many opportunities to make expensive mistakes. In this case, an employee was made redundant and claims to ET included it was not a real redundancy, that the process was incorrect and a challenge to the scores he received. The original ET found in his favour, ruling that he was unfairly dismissed. However on appeal, a different judgement was given. Read more here
Employee refusing return-to-work plan is dismissed - was this fair, or not?
We report this case where, following a lengthy period of sickness absence, an employee refused to return to work on the employer's proposed phased-in return to work programme - that was in line with his GP's recommendations. The employer dismissed him, and the employee made an ET claim for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal. In our second case where ET errors are picked up, the EAT does not agree with the finding, making some sensible observations such as "It was, after all, the contractual duty of Mr Higgins to work the hours he was fit to work." So, what was the final outcome? Read our summary here.
Don't let your Christmas party end in an ET claim
Who knew. Everyone is there. Everyone is having a super time. No complaints. Lots of smiles. Something for everyone (phew, that's no mean feat). Planning started in August. Of course, it's the Christmas party. But what if the smiles are forced, and something happens that's not obvious to all, or someone is just looking for that opportunity to complain. Here's our Top Tips to keep your Christmas celebrations as risk free as possible.
20% off plus we donate to Help for Heroes
We're repeating our winning Winter Warmer Offer again where we offer 20% off PLUS we make a donation to Help for Heroes. We made a wonderful donation following last winter's offer and hope for the same again. The offer runs from 1 Dec to 31 January. Check the full details here.
Thought for the day
Flaming enthusiasm, backed by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. ~ Dale Carnegie
