Daniel Barnett's Latest - April 6

Daniel Barnett's Latest

Compensatory Award - Deductions

30 March 2006  

The EAT (HHJ McMullen presiding) has handed down an important
decision dealing with a common problem for tribunals when
assessing the compensatory award.
Knapton v ECC Card Clothing Ltd is authority for the proposition
that:
* if an employee chooses to draw his pension early, following
dismissal, the value of his pension benefits should not be
deducted from any compensatory award;
* if his remuneration package includes life insurance, the
compensatory award should not include compensation for the cost of
purchasing that insurance, to the date of the hearing, unless the
employee actually purchased alternative insurance cover. Assuming
the employee has not died, he has suffered no financial loss by
being uninsured.
Whilst this decision was only dealing with unfair dismissal
compensatory awards, the EAT's reasoning makes it clear that the
principles will similarly apply to discrimination awards.
Knapton v ECC Card Clothing Ltd 

Revised DDA Code of Practice on Meaning of Disability

30 March 2006

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has issued revised
Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining
questions relating to the definition of disability.
The new Guidance comes into force on 1st May 2006. However, the
old Guidance (dating back to 1996) will continue to apply to
claims arising out of acts of discrimination occurring before 1st
May.
The revised Guidance can be downloaded as a pdf
or a Word document 

from the DRC website (http://www.drc-gb.org/thelaw/practice.asp)

Law Society Handbook on Employment Law

by Daniel Barnett and Henry Scrope
 
Third edition just published
£49.95
Click here for more details
http://www.danielbarnett.co.uk/publications_lawsoc.htm
 
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