Category Archives: EU law

Workers’ Rights and the EU

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Darren Newman

The annoying thing about the debate that has blown up over the weekend about workers’ rights post Brexit is that it rarely gets down to specifics. Take the Financial Times story on Friday. It referred to the possibility of divergence … Continue reading →

Posted in BREXIT, Equal pay, Equality Act, EU law, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Banning employees from wearing headscarves

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Darren Newman

Let’s get one thing clear at the outset. The European Court of Justice has not said that it is OK to ban Muslim employees from wearing headscarves. It really hasn’t. But the decision in Achbita v G4S Secure Solutions NV … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality Act, EU law, Indirect discrimination, Religion in the workplace, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

BREXIT and strike ballots.

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Darren Newman

This is not a post about the employment law implications of Brexit. Obviously there are plenty of those out there – and I’m sure I’ll be writing a few over the weeks months and years that follow. I suspect that … Continue reading →

Posted in BREXIT, EU law, Industrial action, Trade Union Bill | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

USA v Nolan: Why America must be kicking itself

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Darren Newman

SCENE: INTERIOR USA COMMAND BUNKER Dozens of generals and CIA types sit around a huge table. Uniformed flunkies are busying themselves in the background, carrying messages, whispering in the ears of the great men who have gathered to meet the … Continue reading →

Posted in case law, EU law, Redundancy Consultation, Wages | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

The UK never had an opt-out from the Working Time Directive

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Darren Newman

We really didn’t. It seems that David Cameron is going to insist on reclaiming the UK’s opt out from employment law as part of his renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s membership. It’s not clear whether the claims are genuine or … Continue reading →

Posted in EU law, Uncategorized, Working Time and Annual leave | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Why holiday pay has to include overtime

Posted on November 5, 2014 by Darren Newman

What has struck me most about some of the commentary on the EAT decision in Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton (and other cases) on overtime and holiday pay has been the way in which it is assumed that the exclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in EU law, Working Time and Annual leave | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

If it weren’t for the EU…

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Darren Newman

What would UK employment law look like if Britain had not joined the EU? The question occurred to me when I saw a Tweet from Hugo Rifkind during last night’s ‘in or out’ debate between Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in EU law | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Myth of Gold-Plating

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Darren Newman

Gold-plating is such a clever term – I wish I’d thought of it. In the employment law context it refers to over-implementing EU rules so that the UK law is more burdensome than it needs to be. When a set … Continue reading →

Posted in EU law | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Guilty until proven innocent?

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Darren Newman

Today’s outrage against objectivity and rational analysis is brought to you courtesy of the founder and Director of Civitas, an independent ‘think tank’. David G Green has written an article in the Telegraph giving a pithy critique of the Equality … Continue reading →

Posted in Equality Act, EU law | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Another red-tape scare story from the Telegraph

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Darren Newman

Today we have another ‘mad rules imposed by Brussels’ story that the Telegraph loves so much . Take a look at this article with the headline ‘New EU employment ruling could stifle British business’ Our old friend Louisa Peacock informs us … Continue reading →

Posted in EU law | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment