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Employment law brief: 7 August 2020

05 August 2020 / Ian Smith
Issue: 7898 / Categories: Features , Employment
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Before signing off for the summer break, Ian Smith tackles some small but mighty points of interpretation

In brief

  • How long is short?
  • Notice withdrawn…or not?
  • Accommodation deductions: a difficult precedent.
  • Has the employee affirmed the contract after employer repudiation?
  • Bringing a claim as a matter of principle.

This month’s Brief contains five recent cases, all of which concern short but important points of interpretation—when is an agency-provided worker’s engagement ‘temporary’? When can notice of termination be withdrawn? What is the position of an accommodation deduction for national minimum wage (NMW) purposes where the accommodation is provided by a third party? How does the concept of affirmation of employer behaviour apply when the employee has appealed? Can an ex-employee bring an unfair dismissal claim, even if there is no chance of monetary compensation if successful? Four of the cases provide welcome clarifications, but the NMW case has to be read with caution and arguably fires a shot across the bows of any employer providing accommodation for workers through

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