I couldn’t resist putting up this cartoon from yesterday’s Independent. A Lib Dem supporter was on TV last night saying this will make his party stronger. I can’t see it myself. Poor old Vince wasn’t the only one caught out by the Telegraph’s undercover reporter – there must have been an outbreak of Mad Turkey disease, or perhaps the Lib Dems just want to be loved?
Hello, my name is Vince ...
As 2010 storms out in a blizzard of snow and ice and 2011 lurks just behind Father Christmas, it’s time to write my valedictory message for the year. Ambassadors may no longer write their final thoughts on the country in which they have been living before jetting off because of wikileaks, but this blog has no such fears.
What of 2010? Were you paying attention? I wasn’t, not all of the time anyway, but when I was awake these were the issues that caught my eye.
If you’re a blogger, should what you write about online be any concern of your employer? A case before the East London ET is dealing with the vexed issue of reputational damage to an employer caused by an employee in their spare time.
Allen & Overy, the Magic Circle City law firm would say yes, having dismissed Deirdre Clarke, formerly a Senior Associate in their Moscow office and author of the Philosophy Can be Sexy blog.
Time for Tiffin
A few weeks ago I wrote about whether a lapdancer could be held to be an employee (she couldn’t). A similar question arose recently in the case of Tiffin v Lester Aldridge LLP at the EAT: can a Partner in a law firm be an Employee? Nadine Quashie’s case was a Preliminary Hearing at first instance, i.e before the Employment Tribunal; Tiffin’s was an appeal against the refusal of the ET to hold that he was an employee.
If you’re snowed in and can’t get to work, does your employer have to pay you?
Almost certainly not. I did an interview for parentdish.co.uk on this very subject (click here). Unless the employer is contractually obliged to pay (which would be unusual) if you can’t make it in to work because of the weather conditions, your employer doesn’t have to pay you. The Lawyer today reported on one law firm taking a hard line on the issue. As ever, much will depend on what the contract of employment says, but in my experience it is very unusual for contracts to say anything at all about this situation.