This month, we start with the news that the statutory right to neonatal care leave and pay will come into force from 6 April 2025. We provide a summary of the key points employers should be aware of in relation to this new right.
We also cover three EAT decisions that will be of interest to employers, two of which concern remedies. The first looks at what employment tribunals should take into account when deciding whether to order re-employment as a remedy in an unfair dismissal claim. The second considers how employment tribunals should determine the appropriate amount of an injury to feelings award in a discrimination claim, with the EAT overturning the tribunal's award of £10,000 on the basis that it was manifestly excessive.
Our last case concerns an employee's ability to recover payments due under a PHI scheme by way of an unlawful deductions from wages claim. It also addresses the circumstances in which a tribunal may strike out a discrimination claim on the basis that a fair hearing is no longer possible.
Finally, we provide an overview of the new guidance issued by the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals on taking oral evidence from abroad. This will be important for employers involved in employment tribunal litigation to bear in mind if there is a chance that any of their witnesses may be located outside the UK.
Right to neonatal care leave and pay to take effect from 6 April 2025
On 20 January 2025, the government confirmed that the right to statutory neonatal care leave and pay will take effect, as anticipated, from 6 April 2025. Its introduction aims to address the issue of parents of children who go into neonatal care having to use up a proportion of their existing family leave rights (maternity, paternity, etc. leave) to care for their baby in hospital.
Unfair dismissal remedies: how should the tribunal approach the possibility of re-engagement
In this case, an order for re-engagement was overturned on appeal. The employment tribunal had erred by failing to assess the practicability of re-engagement from the perspective of the respondent.
Injury to feelings: EAT rules that £10,000 award in pregnancy/maternity discrimination case was manifestly excessive
In this case, the EAT overturned an employment tribunal's decision to award an employee £10,000 for injury to feelings for pregnancy/maternity discrimination that related to her employer's failure to deal with a grievance, and gave guidance on how tribunals should assess such awards.
PHI: Employee could claim payments under PHI scheme via unlawful deductions from wages claim
In this case, the EAT upheld an employment tribunal's decision that an employee could recover payments due under her employer's PHI scheme via an unlawful deductions claim. The EAT also held that the tribunal had been wrong to strike out the employee's disability discrimination claim on the basis that a fair hearing was impossible.
New tribunal guidance on giving oral evidence from abroad
The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals in England and Wales, and in Scotland, have each issued new guidance on giving oral evidence from abroad, which took effect on 27 January 2025.
