Surveillance in the workplace 10 Jul 01 Businesses that routinely scrutinise staff behaviour by monitoring e-mails, recording telephone conversations or planting secret cameras in the workplace should be aware of a raft of legislation introduced since March 2000 that could render some of these practices unlawful, and in the worst cases, attract criminal liability. Increasingly, employers are being faced with requests by individuals to work part-time in order to allow them to cater for childcare commitments as well as their careers. Such requests are made most often by women returning from maternity leave. The House of Lords' decision in Johnson v Unisys, IRLB 664, has struck at the heart of the established principle that compensatory awards in unfair dismissal cases are based solely on financial loss. Jun 01 Many employers are tussling with the difficulty of how to harmonise terms and conditions of employment for staff who join the company or group as a result of a Tupe transfer.
Many employers operate discretionary bonus schemes.
In legal terms, it is often exactly where the discretion lies which can prove problematic. Many employers believe that when dismissing an employee with less than a year's service there is no need to follow procedures or worry about unfair dismissal. This is not necessarily so. This article examines where such a dismissal could give rise to such a claim, and where the employee could recover more than notice pay for breach of contract. May 01 Implementation of a new set of Tribunal Rules of Procedure has been delayed until 16 July to allow more time for tribunal users to understand the changes.