April

What can employers do if they discover a staff member's status is not what it appears? And if they do decide to dismiss an employee, to what extent may they become exposed to the possibility of an unfair dismissal claim?

In the case of Baker v Abellio London Limited, the employee was employed for three years when his employer requested documents for proof of his right to work in the UK. Mr Baker, had been working for three years when his employer (Abellio, a bus company) asked him for documents to evidence his right to work in the UK. By that time, Baker's Jamaican passport had expired, so the company lent him £350 to obtain a new one.

When he did so, Abellio, after discussion with the Home Office, told him he would need to make what is known as a ‘no time limit’ application. He refused to do this, because he said he could not afford to and there was in fact no need, because he was allowed to work here by virtue of the Immigration Act 1971.

As a result, his employment was terminated with immediate effect. Baker brought an unfair dismissal claim, but this was rejected by the employment tribunal. It held that the company could not continue to employ him without proof that he had the right to work here. To do otherwise would have exposed them to the possibility of a fine, or even prosecution.

Sybille Steiner, an employment partner at Irwin Mitchell, offers advice on how employers must comply with the GDPR.

She addresses subject access request (SARs), which are often used as leverage in employment disputes. She notes how the GDPR will enhance employees' rights to access personal data held by their employers, will entitle them to more detailed information regarding the way in which their data is processed, will reduce the time limits for the employer's response, and will abolish a current fee for responding to a SAR.

Employers are obliged to comply with a SAR within 40 days of the request, and the GDPR oblige employers to comply faster. Appropriate training and guidance should be in place to ensure that staff can respond to SARs quickly and efficiently.

More than 10,686 new jobs were created in Canada in January, according to the ADP Canada National Employment Report.

"Hiring in Canada is off to a good start," said Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of ADP Research Institute, which produced the report.  Jobs in the goods-producing side were all gainers, with construction seeing the highest increase at 8,200 from the previous month. Natural resources and mining saw 2,800 new jobs, and 1,500 were added to the manufacturing sector.

Results from service providers were mixed, with leisure and hospitality and other services (including public administration) leading at 6,300 each. Educational services and finance and real estate showed significant decreases of 8,100 and 7,000, respectively.