Employment Law
Supreme Court rules employees can claim damages for a symptomless condition
Latham & Watkins LLP – 16 April
Latham and Watkins LLP discuss the Supreme Court decision in Dryden and others v Johnson Matthey, a significant decision which allows three former employees of a chemical company to claim damages for a symptomless condition they received whilst working at Johnson Matthey. The employees developed a sensitivity to platinum salts and will now be returning to the High Court to pursue their compensation claim.
Closing gender pay gaps will not be a quick fix, experts warn
People Management – 16 April
People Management discuss the recent findings from the gender pay gap publications, and what needs to be done to lower the gap, which favoured men in 78% of cases. Promoting flexible working, the inclusion of gender-neutral job posts and promoting senior women in adverts are a number of the initiatives suggested.
Self-employed workers will be far worse off under universal credit, research suggests
People Management – 13 April
Citizens Advice has released two key reports which suggest the new universal credit (UC) system could lead to ‘financial hardship’ for those who do not earn a regular, monthly wage that does not vary in amount. According to the report, a self-employed worker who earned £9,750 and received UC would be £630 worse off each year than someone on benefits under the new system.
Failure to pay father full pay for shared parental leave is not sex discrimination
Lewis Silkin – 12 April
Lewis Silkin discuss the case of Capita Customer Management Ltd v Ali and the recent decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that it is not sex discrimination to refuse to pay a father full salary during shared parental leave. The Employment Tribunal (ET) had previously deemed the treatment of Mr Ali to amount to sex discrimination.
Pensions Law
Royal Bank of Scotland to pay £3.5bn into DB pension fund
Employee Benefits – 19 April
To prepare for ring-fencing legislation, which comes into force in January 2026, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will be paying £3.5 billion into its main defined benefit (DB) pension scheme. Employee Benefits discuss the specifics of the payments in detail.
Higher life expectancy means employees are not saving enough for retirement
Employee Benefits – 16 April
According to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) employees are not saving enough for their retirements. Many employees are underestimating their life expectancy by up to 20%, and spending more in the early years of their retirement.
