Category Archives: Employment law

Social media posts are increasingly a source of employers finding out about potential employee misconduct and provide a fruitful source of evidence in this regard.

The number of employment law cases where social media postings are deeply involved is escalating rapidly.

In another reported case in the last few weeks, which has not yet reached the Employment Tribunal, staff employed by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn have been dismissed for an overzealous send off for a departing member of staff.

Whilst the misdemaenour appears to be relatively minor, with the departing employee bveing dunked in a  fountain and then had some cakes thrown at him, it would appear that the defence to the unfair dismissal claim will be that the Duke has very strict employment policies and procedures. On the basis that the employees were fully aware of the very high standards required, it is more than possible that the Duke’s defence may fall within the “range of reasonable responses” test for a fair dimissal.

Oh and by the way, the high jinx described above were videoed and posted online.

Employment law – wakey wakey !

We suppose that with all laws, there will always be plenty of people who will break the law quite deliberately, some who just don’t care, some who don’t know what the law is and others who, putting it politely, have no common sense.

Matters relating to relations between men and women at work will always lead to a proportion of legal cases, but surely most employers know that some things are not permissible these days… it appears not

In a recent case, a sales administrator claimed against her employer for sex discrimination. Some of her claims were successful at Tribunal others not. Among the allegations made, some of which were accepted as proven, others not, were  :-

• The complainant alleged that her boss spanked a female colleague
• That he had a policy of deciding which women to employ based on bra
• That staff had circulated cartoons of her entitled ‘fat, fat face’.
• men watched pornography in the office.
• That the company’s managing director had stated that the company “ had only ever had a problem with women”