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These are the Headache questions that will be featured in our Employment Law Headache Semiars in September - for further details see http://www.schofieldsweeney.co.uk/index.php?/Events/employment-headaches-seminar-2010.html

A booking form for the seminar can be downloaded here - http://www.schofieldsweeney.co.uk/images/bookingformsep10.pdf

1. Lewis and Jenson are both employed as drivers at McLaren Logistics. Lewis does all of the long runs throughout the UK and Europe and Jenson does the shorter local runs. Lewis is then injured in an accident which results in him having a bad back. He states that he is able to return to work but only on the shorter runs. He wants to swap his role with Jenson’s. Does McLaren have to agree to Lewis’ request?

2. John was a senior employee at Ingerland Plc. Due to concerns about his performance, he was demoted by Fabio. John was not happy about this and posted offensive and derogatory comments about Fabio on his Facebook page. Can Ingerland take any action against John?

3. Conserva Tory Ltd has two employees, David and Nick, who are both aged 64. Conserva Tory wrote to both of them to inform them that their employment would terminate when they reach 65 on the grounds of retirement. David and Nick both request to continue working. Conserva Tory would be happy to agree to David’s request but is quite pleased Nick is finally leaving. Is Conserva Tory able to retain David but retire Nick?

4. Waynetta has not been performing recently. There have been informal discussions regarding her performance but nothing has been documented. Things have not improved and her mistakes are proving more costly. Her employer, FA Ltd, is just about to commence the formal capability procedure when Waynetta announces that she is pregnant. FA would prefer to continue with the capability procedure but is concerned about a claim of sex discrimination. How should FA proceed?

5. T Leaf is employed as a bank clerk with Bonus Bank. Bonus Bank is informed by the police that T Leaf has been arrested, charged and bailed in relation to credit card fraud, but that it does not involve any of Bonus Bank’s customers. What action, if any, can Bonus Bank take against T Leaf? Would it make any difference if (a) T Leaf was employed as a cleaner, (b) it did involve Bonus Bank’s customers?

6. Danni is employed by Cyman Dowell Ltd as a National Sales Manager. She works throughout the UK and has 5 Area Sales Managers reporting to her. She is due to return from maternity leave in a couple of months and has made a request to return on a part-time basis. Cyman Dowell does not think that her role can be performed part-time. Can Cyman Dowell simply reject this request?

7. Gen R Us has a contractual sick pay policy which provides for 6 months full pay and 6 months half pay. Bill has been off work for 4 months with depression and it is looking unlikely that he will be able to return to work in the foreseeable future. Can Gen R Us take steps now to terminate Bill’s employment on the grounds of sickness absence?

8. Nicholas is employed by France Finishing and regularly works overtime as he is contractually obliged to do. When asked to work overtime on a particular evening, Nicholas refuses and is abusive towards his manager, Ray. Ray suspends Nicholas and invites him to a disciplinary hearing for refusing to comply with a lawful and reasonable instruction and abusive behaviour. Nicholas responds by lodging a grievance against Ray for bullying. How should France Finishing proceed? Does France Finishing have to hear Nicholas’ grievance before continuing with the disciplinary proceedings?

9. Coalition Plc is currently experiencing financial difficulties but would prefer to avoid making any redundancies. There is a clause in the Staff Handbook allowing it to make changes to terms and conditions of employment in line with business need. Coalition wants to rely on this clause to unilaterally impose on all of its staff a 4-day working week, with a corresponding 20% cut in pay. Is Coalition able to rely on this clause? If not, what other options are available?

10. The IT provision at schools in Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield are currently being provided by one company who has lost the contract. The LA has decided to split the IT provision going forward. IBEM is an IT company and has been invited to tender just for the IT contract for Leeds schools, not those in Bradford and Wakefield. IBEM is concerned about the liability for the original contractor’s employees under TUPE. If successful with the tender, will any employees transfer to IBEM? What should IBEM be doing to properly assess this risk?

11. Jamie is employed by Sainsco as a warehouseman. His duties involve heavy lifting. He has been off work with a bad back for 4 months. His GP has just indicated on a recent fit note that Jamie may be able to return to work on amended duties, in particular the removal of the heavy lifting duties. Sainsco is willing to agree to this and invites Jamie to a meeting to discuss. Jamie refuses to attend and maintains that he is currently too ill to return to work in any capacity. What should Sainsco do?

12. Jordan lodged a grievance against Alex, her line manager, regarding several allegations of sexual harassment. Jordan then went on sick leave whilst her grievance was investigated. Her employer, Stage Managed Ltd, has carried out a full investigation. Some of the allegations were upheld and some were rejected. Stage Managed disciplines Alex and issues him with a final written warning. Jordan is informed but refuses to come back to work unless Alex is sacked. How should Stage Managed proceed?

13. Local Ltd is a small employer with only 5 staff. Wendy is an administrator, who deals with all calls from customers. She has a 6 year old son who has epilepsy. She has had 6 days off to look after him in the last 5 months and has been called away by his school on a further 4 occasions. Wendy’s frequent absences are causing Local problems. Is there anything Local can do?

14. Make-It is a manufacturing business. It currently employs Bob as the production manager. However, due to recent acquisitions and other changes to the business, Make-It now needs a production director and not a production manager. Make-It does not believe that Bob has the skills for this role. Can Make-It make Bob redundant?

15. Andy is employed by Woody Toys as a salesman. He has a list of all of his customers and contacts on LinkedIn. He has just resigned in order to join Woody’s main competitor, Buzz Toys. Woody is concerned about Andy giving Buzz all of their contacts. Is there anything Woody can do?