Monday Morning Dispatch - 07 August 2023

The Media Hub

A short but punchy MMD this week where we review two important employment law updates. We first look at the pending Employment Relations (Flexible Work) Act bill and its likely impact on the workplace. We then review the ET case of Charalambous v National Bank of Greece which looks at unfair dismissal and how an appeal can potentially remedy a defective disciplinary process.

In the News

There have been lots of relevant employment law/HR updates this week.

Employment update on the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023

Law reforms on flexible working have been proposed in the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill which is currently being considered by Parliament. These proposals have arisen as a result of rapid advances in technology which has contributed to a substantial shift in the ability to work from home, giving access to a better work-life balance.

The proposed updates include the following provisions:

Employees will be able to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period, instead of the current right to one request.
Employers must deal with a flexible working request within two months of their receipt of the request. This may be altered if an extension is agreed between the parties.
Employers must first ‘consult’ with the employee before refusing a request, however the required contents of the consultation have not been specified.
Employees will no longer have to set out the prospective effect that agreeing to the request may have, nor how this effect would be dealt with.

The consultation closes on 6 September 2023, and should the Act take effect, we can expect it to take effect around April 2024.

It is not always necessary to meet an employee before dismissing them.

In this recent case, the Claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct over a data breach. The initial investigation was first carried out by the dismissing manager, however this was quickly passed on to a second manager to finish the investigation. When it then came to the dismissal, the dismissing manager made his decision based solely on the paper documents of the investigation reports, and never met with the Claimant in person to discuss the case. The Claimant appealed the decision, when he was then given a formal meeting, however his appeal was dismissed. The Claimant brought tribunal proceedings, where it was found that overall, the procedure was within the range of reasonable responses and the dismissal was fair. On appeal, the EAT held that, although it was desirable for a meeting to take place before dismissal, the Claimant had had an opportunity to explain their position sufficiently before any decision to dismiss was taken, even if the process was “less than ideal.” It also made note of the fact that the appeal involved a meeting, which would have cured any defect in the first stage of the process.

https://www.gov.uk/employment-appeal-tribunal-decisions/ms-despina-charalambous-v-national-bank-of-greece-2023-eat-75

Focus On – Our Services

This week, we have chosen to provide a detailed list of services that Chadwick Lawrence offer. Please find this attached to this email. Should you require any of our services, please do not hesitate to get in contact with us and we would be happy to help.

Chadwick Lawrence Services

Litigation Services

Mental Health Awareness Sessions

Through our relationship with Tailored Learning Solutions who provide mental health first aid courses in our business, we are now able to announce that we are running multiple courses, including MHFA England Adult Courses, Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace Course – For Managers (Non Accredited Course), and Understanding Suicide Intervention at our Wakefield office.

There are events taking place at our Wakefield office as follows:

Suicide First Aid – Understanding Suicide Intervention