Latest News
News 30 November – 5 December 2018
With the recent turn of events in the Houses of Parliament now calling into question the validity of the very basis of the Brexit deal Theresa May is trying to make into law, the prospect of having...
"Gay Cake" Row - Ashers Bakery Win Appeal
The UK Supreme court has ruled on the “gay- cake” discrimination case and was unanimous in their judgement in favour of the Asher bakery’s appeal.BBC News reports (1) that the bakery had been sued ...
Celebrating 10 Years of Supporting Clients
September 2018 marks the 10th year of Castle Associates successfully supporting Employees and Employers with work place issues.Castle Associates have grown year on year and are proud to have provid...
Appeal court rules flat rate for sleep-in care workers is fair
The court of appeal has overturned a ruling on payments for care workers who carry out “sleep-in” shifts for clients with learning disabilities, potentially averting a crisis that employe...
Long term sick leave
Dismissing someone on long term sick leave and the risks.When any employee is off work through illness(1)it can and often cause problems for businesses, not only with the increased workload for oth...
Zero hours contract and suspension
Is someone employed on a zero hours contract entitled to be paid if they suspended from work pending the investigation?The answer is yes.Facts of the caseMs Obi, the Claimant, was a student on a ze...
The right to Appeal against dismissal
It is or should be a worry for any business when employing an individual who may not have the right to work in the UK, especially when you understand what is at stake. There has been increase...
Employment Law Update
Interim ReliefDoes 'likely' (in the context of the threshold for interim relief under s129(1) ERA 1996) simply mean 'more likely than not'?No, held the EAT in Wollenberg v Global Gaming Ventur...
Legal update
Timing of Notice of TerminationWhere an employment contract is silent on when notice is deemed to be given, when does notice of termination take effect? Is it (i) when the letter would have been de...
Covert Surveillance in the workplace: does it breach the right to privacy?
Yes, is the answer, the use of hidden cameras in the workplace did violate the right to privacy of employees who were dismissed for theft as well as the Date Protection laws. This is according to t...
Employment Tribunal Claims are on the increase
The latest Employment Tribunal Statistics have been published by the Government (1) and they clearly show that they are at the highest level since the introduction of the feeSince the Supreme Court...
Business leaders must do more to tackle sexual harassment within the workplace.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (1) (EHRC) have stated that they will take legal action against leading organisations that fail to adequately investigate, identify and address sexual haras...
