CASE STUDIES in EMPLOYMENT LAW

2^nd edition

Jeffrey Young

February 1999, in two volumes

ISBN 978-1-85450-275-9 Volume One and Two

(ISBN-10 1 85450 275 1)

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The Tutor's Manual accompanies the electronic and hard copy student materials Case Studies in Employment Law by Jeffrey Young and contains model answers, notes and OHPs for supporting and enhancing class sessions.

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About the author

Jeffrey Young is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Oxford Brookes University. A qualified Solicitor, he has taught on a wide range of Business and Management programmes over 20 years and has considerable experience in teaching ‘law to non-lawyers’.

He has been a visiting lecturer at Universities in Spain, Germany and the U.S.A. and has regularly addressed conferences in the U.K. for those involved in personnel work.

His current research interest include developing teaching materials for electronic delivery.

Case Studies in Employment Law

INTRODUCTION TO THE NATURE OF EMPLOYMENT LAW

Employment law is a fast changing and highly relevant area of law for millions of people and is subject to much statutory regulation. There is a 'statutory floor' of employment rights, now contained in the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996; legislation on sex, race and disability discrimination (Sex Discrimination Act 1975; Race Relations Act 1976; Equal Pay Act 1970; Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and a statutory regime regulating occupational safety (Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974).

Throughout the 1980's collective labour law, i.e. the legal framework for the employer/trade union relationship, became increasingly subject to statutory control in stark contrast to most of its history. Significant changes were brought about by the Employment Acts 1980, 1982, 1988 and 1990, the Trade Union Act 1984 and, more recently, the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993.

Employment law should not be studied in isolation. The law cannot be fully understood by students unless they gain insights from the social context in which it operates. For example ...

THE IMPORTANCE OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY LAW

The policies of the Conservative administrations of the 1980s and 1990s were aimed at deregulating individual employment relationships. These policies came into conflict increasingly with the more interventionist stance adopted by the Commission of the European Community.

Pressure from Europe brought about the introduction of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.

In addition, the European Commission's Charter of Fundamental Social Rights proposed a number of measures aimed at improving the living and working conditions for EC workers including: the right to a 'decent wage'; the legal regulation of the withholding or seizure of wages; restrictions on working time; the right to annual paid leave and to a weekly rest period; and limitations on the use and terms of employment of fixed-term, part-time and casual workers. Many of these aspirations have now been converted into legislation in the U.K.

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Overview of Employment Law

The topics covered in the case studies pack:

(a)	Definition of 'employee'.
(b)	Formation of the contract.
(c)	Operation of the contract.
(d)	Protecting business secrets.
(e)	Restraint of trade.
(f)	Termination of the contract and common law remedies.
(g)	Unfair dismissal.
(h)	Redundancy.
(j)	Takeovers and transfer of undertakings.
(j)	Discrimination and equal pay.
(k)	Collective employment law.

Introduction

Employment law, on the whole, is not a conceptually difficult subject, but it can be extremely detailed at times and the interrelationship between matters such as breach of contract and unfair dismissal, for instance, can cause some confusion to those new to the subject.

The purpose of this overview is:

(a) to identify the topics we shall be covering in the case studies book;

(b) to indicate the relationship between the various topics; and

Interrelationship of the Topics

Every contract of employment has a beginning, a middle and an end, i.e.

(a) How a contract of employment comes about.

Topics here range from the wording of advertisements through to the conduct of interviews and the foundation of the contract. Misunderstandings at this stage can lead to later problems.

(b) How the parties deal with each other.

This is the major concern of about 25 million people on a day-to-day basis, but is still not a major area of litigation. However, an awareness of how terms come to be implied into the contract, and their effect, can be a great advantage at this stage.

The most well-known (and usually misunderstood) topic here is that of unfair dismissal.

STATUTORY AND CONTRACTUAL CONSEQUENCES OF ANY ACTION

The employment law student needs to keep in mind when dealing with any stage of giving advice, that there are both common law and statutory rules to consider.

For instance, trying to force an employee to move to a different location in the absence of a simple 'mobility' clause might lead to a breach of contract. However, an employee who doggedly stands on their contractual rights to the point of refusing to move, may possibly be on the losing side of any unfair dismissal claim, if the Tribunal considers that the employer has been reasonable in all the circumstances.

Please note

The case studies in this Manual are based on real situations, but the names and other material facts have been altered to preserve anonymity. We have tried to avoid using any real company or individual names. If there is a similarity, this is accidental. Although care has been taken to ensure that points of law are covered, this material is intended to offer guidance only for the purposes of teaching and training. If you wish to use the material to support a real legal situation, you are advised to consult a professional legal practitioner.

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SECTION	TOPIC	CASE-STUDY

1	Employee status	- Harry’s Hot Dogs
		- Seashell Publishing
		- Windsor Tours

2	Formation and sources	- 'Golden handcuffs'
	of terms of contract	- Bella's Language School
		- Talbot Construction Ltd

3	Variation of terms	- Hydro Projects plc
	(Adapting to change)	- Greenbridge Borough Council

4	Protecting Business Secrets	- First Class Travel

5	Termination of Contract I	- King Technology Ltd
	- dismissal at common law	- Harry’s resignation

6	Termination of Contract II	- The Train Conductor
	- unfair dismissal	- The 'interest free loan'

7	Redundancy and Transfer of	- Medical Equipment Ltd
	Undertakings Regulations	- The Keyholder

8	Equal Treatment	- Masons Department Store
		- Clarence’s bad back
		- The receptionist
		- Mrs. Coffey

9	Equal Pay	- The Jobsharers
		- Southwest Business School

10	Trade Unions	- Amalgamated Engineers’ Union

List of Overhead Projection Transparencies

Seashell Publishing

Points to consider when assessing an unfair dismissal claim

Redundancy claim flow chart

Equal Pay Act 1970

Sample Topic

Please choose a topic to test with your students. Email, telephone, fax or write to us, we will post you the material to try.

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