News & commentary On this page you will find the latest news on employment law, HR and health & safety matters. They are updated regularly and you will find new content here on a weekly basis. Latest news & commentary 21 February 2012 Data protection changes on the horizon The European Commission has signalled that Data Protection laws could face a radical shake-up in the next few years.[...] News Greg Fletcher Employment law 16 February 2012 Diamond Jubilee public holiday- to give or not to give? The Government announced way back in May 2010 that Tuesday 5 th June 2012 will be a special public holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.[...] News Hussain Kayani Employment law 14 February 2012 Employment tribunals: The more things change the more they stay the same Like death and taxes, employment tribunals are a fact of life for many employers in Scotland.[...] Commentary Donald MacKinnon Employment law 07 February 2012 Council sacks workers by picking names out of a cereal bowl Edinburgh City Council has recently come under fire for implementing an unconventional redundancy selection process.[...] News Daniel Gorry Employment law 02 February 2012 Accident and injury reporting change A change to the reporting requirements under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 (RIDDOR) will take effect on 6 April 2012.[...] News Thomas Elliott Health & safety 25 January 2012 Employee makes a grave error An employee from Brookville, Pennsylvania has made a fatal error by trying to get away with an unauthorised absence from work by pretending that his mother had died.[...] News Richard Woods Employment law 24 January 2012 Increase in unfair dismissal qualifying period to affect only new employees? As we reported on 24 November last year, on 6 April 2012 the qualifying period for unfair dismissal will increase from one to two years.[...] News Fiona McBeath Employment law 24 January 2012 Dismissals made in error cannot be retracted In a recent Court of Appeal case, CF Capital plc v Willoughby, the Court held that a dismissal letter sent to an employee in error could not be withdrawn by the employer.[...] News Daniel Gorry Employment law 23 January 2012 Supreme Court ruling in offshore workers’ holiday battle Offshore oilrig workers have lost their legal battle over holidays in a Supreme Court judgment that the RMT Union has described as “a slap in the face”.[...] News Greg Fletcher Employment law 20 January 2012 LAW’s Donald MacKinnon interviewed on catholic midwives case The case concerns two midwives at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow who, following an internal change to procedure for patients undergoing terminations, were required to supervise the care of abortion patients on maternity wards.[...] News Hussain Kayani Employment law 16 January 2012 It was just banter! At the recent Steven Lawrence murder trial one of the defendants, admitting to having made a series of lurid racist statements at his workplace described the comments as ‘Merely part of routine banter on the building site. It was done in jest and not in malice’, he told the jury.[...] Commentary Ian Watson Employment law 13 January 2012 Olympic guidance for employers Unless you’ve been living on Mars for the last few months, you cannot fail to have noticed that one of the biggest events of the sporting calendar is arriving on our doorstop this summer.[...] News Heather Kemmett Employment law 11 January 2012 Government to ease health & safety burden on small business? Prime Minister David Cameron has started the New Year by promising that the coalition government will ease the health & safety burden on small businesses.[...] News Ian McKinnon Health & safety 06 January 2012 Polish doctor lands highest ever discrimination award A Polish hospital consultant has been awarded a record sum of just under £4.5m by an employment tribunal.[...] News John Wilson Employment law 04 January 2012 Employment Law: what to expect in 2012 With the holiday season over and our thoughts turning to losing the holiday weight, we at Law at Work thought it would be useful to remind you about what we expect to be happening in the world of employment law in 2012. [...] News Richard Woods Employment law 23 December 2011 Tribunal Compensation Limits Increase New legislation has been passed which will increase maximum employment tribunal awards from 1 February 2012.[...] News Heather Kemmett Employment law 21 December 2011 Top 500 Insider Business Breakfast Law At Work are delighted to be sponsoring the Top 500 Insider Business Breakfast on Friday 13 January 2012.[...] News Jane Wright Event 19 December 2011 LAW’s Donald MacKinnon makes radio and TV debut Director of Legal Services at LAW, Donald MacKinnon, has made his radio debut on BBC Radio Scotland’s popular Newsdrive show.[...] News Ian Watson Employment law 15 December 2011 Government tribunal fees proposals unveiled The Ministry of Justice issued a consultation document on 14 December 2011 setting out proposals to charge fees for employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal.[...] News Steve Briggs Employment law 15 December 2011 LAW case appears in employment law casebook LAW Head of Litigation, Richard Woods, has been published! Followers of employment law will no doubt be aware of the highly regarded IDS Handbooks which give detailed guidance on employment law issues.[...] News Fiona McBeath Employment law 01020304050607 Next