Assessing Employment Tribunal Awards

Employment Tribunals have been under scrutiny for many years and the focus during that time has been on cost. IFF Research1 conducted a study on this topic, entitled Payment of Tribunal Awards, for the Department of Business Innovation and Skills (BIS).2 Released in late 2013, this report provided data reflecting on the employment law reforms passed by the Coalition Government, particularly the procedure for dispute resolution. Payment of Tribunal Awards both corroborated and brought into question portions of recent legislative changes

Cajole and Control: The Law of Managing Education in a Globalised World

Improvement of publicly funded education has long been part of governments’ more pressing mandates. With globalisation and recent economic issues, the pressure has intensified. This article canvasses the different legislative tactics employed in England to improve education delivery while reducing its cost. Two methods have been used in particular, control and cajole: successive governments have adopted a strategy of controlling the cost of education and cajoling teachers to improve student achievement. Similar sequences of events arising in both England and Canada are examined in order to highlight the distinct new course taken by the former in 2010. This paper presents examples of legislative management of education at a time when governments around the world are facing significant demands to reduce public expenditure while simultaneously increasing student achievement (as a way of preparing for the future)

Labour law: the medium and the message

From the contract of employment to the ‘gig economy’, attention has been fixed on the medium through which personal work relationships have been facilitated. The medium and message in labour law are explored here using the example of the United Kingdom. Fragmentation of and the associated decline in trade unions (the most evident medium in labour law) have been noticeable. Labour law’s preoccupation with the medium warrants further consideration with regards to the ‘gig economy’. ‘Gig’ work does not warrant ‘game changer’ standing because it is a continuation of the long-standing issue of employment status. Still, innovations in information technology prompt further reflection, such as the lure of app-based work. Conversely, algorithms as a tool of workplace management may be themselves ‘game changers’. Appealing to the notion of ‘scientific management’, algorithms ostensibly promise an objective means through which to measure workplace performance

'Online Speech and the Workplace: Public Right, Private Regulation

A developing line of case law suggests there is little space for workers’ remarks on social media platforms even before discussion of employers’ proportionate responses . Workers are being disciplined (up to and including termination) for online remarks because employment contract clauses have vest ed employers with a unilate ral authority to assess workers’ online speech based on the expansive threshold of what may be embarrassing to or what may lower business reputation. While a legitimate concern itself, the singular focus on business reputation fosters a chilling effect at a time of unprecedented facilities for individual free speech. A comparison of United Kingdom and Canadian cases on social media in the workplace of fers an instructive contrast where, in Canada, there is greater scope for expression than in the UK. While the Canadian decisions le ad to fertile discussion of pressing social issues, they are not idealized . Rulings in both countries remain susceptible to further difficulties , such as the capacity for information technology to expose workers and employers alike to legal risk beyond the ‘work day’

Employment Tribunal Reforms to Boost the Economy

One of the more ignored aspects of employment law is tribunal procedure. To this neglected area the Coalition Government has brought in a host of reforms to address what is regarded as an economic imperative. This commentary considers the employment law reforms contained in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, Part 2.1 Coming at the mid-way point in the Coalition’s planned reforms which are scheduled to be fully introduced as of 2015,2 this legislative overhaul of employment tribunal procedure has been linked to efforts to improve the country’s economy. Government reports published leading up to the passage of the legislation offer guidance to the new framework. The package contains a negative and singular view of employment litigation. The Act and Regulations may assist employers, but more remarkable is the Government’s ambivalence regarding rights. These reforms put into question access to redress for potential infringements of employment rights and emphasise the use of law as a tool for economic stimulation rather than a source of rights protection

No Longer. Not Yet. The Promise of Labour Law.

Since the latter part of the 20th century, economic duress has been a touchstone for changes in labour law. Reforms to employment tribunals in and around 2013 pose a particular challenge in access to redress as well as a significant obstacle to achieving the promise of labour law in the 21st century. This article challenges the bases for recent reforms and questions reliance on duress as their justification

'Process and Outcome'

While Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan remains the Supreme Court of Canada’s headline decision for labour law in 2015, Mounted Police Association of Ontario v Canada (Attorney General) arguably further developed the Court’s continuing reappraisal of freedom of association. Mounted Police provided some direction as to the content of a ‘meaningful pursuit of workplace goals’. The guidance can be categorised in terms of process and outcome where the former constitutes the content of freedom of association and the latter is viewed as sitting outside of its protection