THIS BRIEFING SUMMARISES SOME RECENT developments that affect employment law.
DISCLOSURE OF DOCUMENTS
Mr S Jones v Money Expert Ltd [2008] offers a reminder that failure to give full disclosure at the appropriate time and an attempt to rely on documents not previously seen by a party may lead to those documents – however relevant – being disregarded by a tribunal.
FLEXIBLE WORKING UPDATE
In May 2008 the government proposed extending the right to request flexible working to parents of children up to the age of 16. Currently, parents with children under six (or disabled children under 18) have a legal right to request flexible working arrangements, as do carers of adults. The government intends to introduce the new age limit by April 2009, despite lobbying by businesses to delay this until October 2009 or even 2010 due to the economic pressure that companies are likely to face.
This leaves employers with less than a year to prepare for the extra 4.5 million parents who will be entitled to request flexible working under the new rules. The proposals also include a slight lessening of red tape, with the removal of the need to give employees a formal letter approving a request to change their working patterns.
UK SIGNS UP TO THE ROME I REGULATION
Rome 1 is a set of rules that aim to provide clarity over which law will apply where a dispute arises over a contract made between people or businesses from different jurisdictions. When the proposals were first announced by the European Commission in 2005, the government opted out of the proposals as it did not believe it was in the interests of UK businesses. Following a revised proposal and consultation, the government has agreed to sign up to them. Rome I is due to come into effect on 17 December 2009.
By Nisha Lalji, paralegal in the Salans employment group.
