Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Employees Working Off Site - Liability under Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998?

The House of Lord have issued their decision in Smith v Northamptonshire County Council - a case concerning an employee injured on a crumbling wooden ramp while wheeling a wheelchair user (Mrs Cotter) from her home to the minibus driven by the employee who also worked for the Council as a carer. The ramp in question had been installed by the NHS some 10 years earlier and had a latent defect in it. It had been inspected by the Council but not for the purposes of these Regulations. The House of Lords held that unless the equipment in question, ie the ramp, was actually in the "control" of the employer then there was no liability. In this case the Council did not install the ramp, did not have any responsibility maintain it and had no control over it's maintenance or use. For that reason, the House of Lords decided in favour of the council because it did not have the necessary level of control over the ramp and so were not liable under the Regulations.

So, from this point of view, businesses can relax because they will not be held liable for equipment used by their employees whilst working off site, which is not within their "control".

Their Lordships also considered the principle behind the Regulations which is that they are there to promote employees health & safety and not to give employees a right to claim compensation.


Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Minimum Alcohol Pricing

Interesting article in The Telegraph today on the continuing debate surrounding minimum alcohol pricing - see: http://tinyurl.com/ofcomf.


Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Keeping a weather eye out....

There is an important legislative proposal by the EU in relation to the display of Energy Performance Certificates, in the draft Recast Directive on Energy Performance of Buildings (COM (2008) 780 Final).

At the moment Article 7 of Energy Performance of Buildings Director 2002 only applies to public authorites and public services where the floor space is over 1,000 square metres . The legal requirement is that an Energy Performance Certificate must be displayed in a prominent position clearly visible to the public.

The proposed legislation looks to widen that requirement to premises which are "frequently visited by the public" and proposes to reduce the floor space from 1,000 square metres to 250 square metres. If this proposed legislation is passed, it will catch private sector buildings as well such as hotels, shops, and offices.

The timetable for the proposed legislation is for member states to implement it in their national law by 31 December 2010 for public authorities and public services, and all other premises by 31 December 2012. It would be a good idea to look out for the government consultations when change is proposed to the domestic law so that any issues or unintended consequences of the law can be dealt with at an early stage.


Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

National Minimum Wage & Tips, Gratuities etc

BERR has just issued the Government's Response to its Consultation on Service Charges, Tips, Gratuities and Cover Charges. The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 came into force in 1999 and since then it has been legal to use service charges, tips, gratuities and cover charges towards payment of the national minimum wage when payment is made through the employer's payroll.
The responses to the consultation came from a broad spectrum of interested parties: from individual customers, to business and trade unions and bodies. Unsurprisingly, those on the employee and customer side support the change in the law while business and trade bodies suggest delaying the change until the economic climate improves. However, the majority of responses support the change. So on that basis, the government, having taken evidence from stakeholdes and having carried out an impact assessment, believes the time is now right to change the law to create a level playing field in wages paid by employers. The government's response states that it will also create equity for employees, plus create transparency for the customers leaving tips in good faith for the employee so that they will know how their money is to be used.
The government states it is working with the Hospitality, Leisure and Service Sectors to ensure there will be no unnecessary additional administrative burdens on employers.
The change in the law will come into effect on 1 October 2009. (The current National Minimum Wage is £5.73 per hour.)
How will it affect your business? Will it cost you more or are you already paying tips in addition to the national minimum wage?

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Working Time Directive

MEPs and EU governments failed to agree a draft Directive amending the 48 hour individual opt out and ‘on call’ time rules means the opt out stays in force probably for many years and without fresh restrictions (on how and when it can be signed and on annual renewal). This is good news as it applies to around 120,000 hospitality employees.

Employees can still be asked to “opt out” and be able to work more than 48 hours a week, but they continue to have the right to reject this request or change their mind on no more than three months’ written notice, without suffering any adverse treatment as a result.

Disclaimer: the contents of this blog are not intended form the basis of legal advice. Independent legal advice should be taken from your own solicitor for all cases.