Summary: The European Court of Human Rights has criticised the failure of UK law to protect those with less than one year’s service where they are dismissed because of their membership to a political party.
Facts:
The Impact of this Decision on Employers:
The ECtHR has criticised the failure of UK law to protect those with less than one year’s service where they are dismissed because of their membership to a political party.
Arguably, the position has now been exacerbated by virtue of the fact that employees now need to have accrued 2 years’ continuous service to enable them to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. On the other hand, it could be argued that an employee in a similar position to Mr Redfearn would now be protected by the Equality Act 2010 if membership of a political party could fall within this Act’s definition of “philosophical belief”.
In the meantime and before (and if) any steps are taken to change the position under UK Law, the impact of the ECtHR’s decision for employers is as follows:
In the event that you are contemplating changing an employee’s role, disciplining or dismissing the employee for reasons connected with membership to a political party, we would recommend that you seek legal advice and support before taking steps to do so given that this is a complicated and untested area of Law.
Rachael Jessop, Solicitor.
Contact Information:
+44 (0) 1604 871143
This update is for general guidance only and does not constitute definitive advice.
Summary: The European Court of Human Rights has criticised the failure of UK law to protect those with less than one year’s service where they are dismissed because of their membership to a political party.
Facts:
The Impact of this Decision on Employers:
The ECtHR has criticised the failure of UK law to protect those with less than one year’s service where they are dismissed because of their membership to a political party.
Arguably, the position has now been exacerbated by virtue of the fact that employees now need to have accrued 2 years’ continuous service to enable them to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. On the other hand, it could be argued that an employee in a similar position to Mr Redfearn would now be protected by the Equality Act 2010 if membership of a political party could fall within this Act’s definition of “philosophical belief”.
In the meantime and before (and if) any steps are taken to change the position under UK Law, the impact of the ECtHR’s decision for employers is as follows:
In the event that you are contemplating changing an employee’s role, disciplining or dismissing the employee for reasons connected with membership to a political party, we would recommend that you seek legal advice and support before taking steps to do so given that this is a complicated and untested area of Law.
Rachael Jessop, Solicitor.
Contact Information:
+44 (0) 1604 871143
This update is for general guidance only and does not constitute definitive advice.