Welcome to Employment Edit, our pick of the key employment law developments from the last couple of weeks:
Uber – worker or self-employed?
The decision about the employment status of Uber drivers is imminent. In the test cases the two drivers claimed that they are workers, rather than self-employed, and therefore entitled to holiday pay and the national minimum wage. We will let you know when the decision is out.
Holiday pay
In the latest decision in the case of British Gas Trading Limited v Lock, the Court of Appeal has agreed with the previous decision of the EAT and held that holiday pay must include an element to compensate for any contractual results-based commission that an employee would ordinarily have earned if they were not on holiday.
Shared parental leave
The Glasgow Employment Tribunal has awarded almost £30,000 to a father, after Network Rail conceded that its family friendly policy was indirectly sex discriminatory as it only provided for mothers/primary adopters to receive enhanced shared parental pay and not fathers/partners of primary adopters. Although this case has received significant media coverage, it is perhaps of limited significance because it does not answer the more important question as to whether or not it is discriminatory for an employer to pay enhanced maternity pay to a mother on maternity leave whilst only offering statutory shared parental pay for shared parental leave (Snell v Network Rail Infrastructure Limited).
Immigration
We are seeing an increasing trend for employers to be audited by UK Visas and Immigration when reapplying for a second sponsorship licence, so employers should review their practices and ensure they carry out right to work checks on new recruits and monitor when an employee’s limited leave comes to an end. The government has issued guidance on how to carry out right to work checks.
If you would like more information, or specific advice, please contact Roger Bull, or get in touch with your usual Burges Salmon contact.