Welcome to Employment Edit, our pick of the key employment law developments from the last couple of weeks:
- Holiday pay – As anticipated, the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal has determined that voluntary overtime worked on a sufficiently regular basis can, in principle, be included in holiday pay calculations for the 4 weeks’ leave required under the EU Working Time Directive (Patterson v Castlereagh Borough Council). Please see our briefing, holiday pay: voluntary overtime under the spotlight, for further information.
- Unlawful deductions from wages - the two year cap on unlawful deductions claims came into force in Great Britain for claims lodged on or after 1 July 2015.
- Collective consultation – the EAT has held on the facts in E Ivor Hughes Educational Foundation v Morris and others that the obligation to consult over collective redundancies was triggered when the employer made a provisional decision to close the school if numbers did not improve. However, the EAT did not give any more guidance on which of the conflicting tests should be applied to determine the trigger for collective consultation.
- Pregnancy and adoption – Acas has published a new guide that explains the rights to time off for antenatal and adoption appointments for pregnant women, adopters, surrogates and partners of pregnant women.
If you would like more information, or specific advice, please contact Roger Bull or get in touch with your usual Burges Salmon contact.