Archived News - June 2009
16 June 2009 - EMPLOYMENT LAW – RECENT DEVLOPMENTS
Tips – Are they wages?
1. The Court of Appeal have upheld the decision in the case of HMRC-v-Annabelles (Berkeley Square) Limited – see our Employment Protection Bulletin (October 2008 issue).
The effect of the decision is that as a general rule tips and gratuities will not form part of an employees wages and therefore cannot be counted towards the minimum wage.
2. Age Discrimination – Last in/First out – Redundancy Selection
The traditional method of redundancy selection has been “last in/first out” (LIFO). Its advantage is that it is simple and objective. However it now runs the risk of being found to be indirect discrimination on the grounds of age unless the employer can show it is a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim” - see Employment Protection Bulletin (October 2008 issue).
The risk of using LIFO as the only basis to select for redundancy has been considered by the Court of Appeal in the recent decision of Royce Rolls PLC-v-UNITE 2009.
Our advice is that when considering selection criteria employers should use a non-discriminatory matrix scoring system which is capable of objective assessment – for example qualifications and disciplinary records. If you are however looking at making anyone redundant then, it is essential that you take advice.
Whether you are an employer or an employee then, should you require further information on these or any other aspects of employment law please contact Paul Croker on 01553 692737.
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