Ask an Ealing Expert - Louise Taft of JR Jones Solicitors

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A look at the legalities behind the headlines

This month our Ealing expert, Louise Taft, comments on employment issues and news.

New Immigration Laws

 

The governments’ plan to amend the rules on work permits have continued to make the headlines.

The government hopes to tighten-up the immigration rules, making it harder for unskilled workers to obtain work permits and to limit work permits to only those industries where workers from abroad are deemed necessary.  This has led to workers as diverse as hospital consultants and Bangladeshi chefs protesting that the new rules are unfair. 

In fact, the hospital consultants successfully took the government to court over guidance given to the NHS that doctors trained abroad should only be appointed if their immigration status allowed them to stay beyond the end of the contract in question.  The courts found that the government was bringing in immigration legislation through the backdoor, by imposing unfair restrictions on the hospitals employing doctors trained abroad. 

The courts found that the doctors had come to this country with a legitimate expectation that they could make their careers here so the guidance was unreasonable and overturned.

Unfair distribution of tips

 

Another headline in EalingToday confirmed that restaurant staff are protesting because many restaurants, including some of the big chains do not distribute tips fairly amongst staff, keeping a proportion of the tips for the restaurant itself. 

In fact, waiters and kitchen staff have no right to tips left by customers unless the restaurant agrees to distribute them amongst the staff.  They can, however, develop such a right through “custom and practice”.  So if a restaurant, café or a bar has always previously distributed the tips, the staff obtain the right to receive those tips in the usual way. 

Caring for 17 year olds

 

Flexible working has made the news again. The government proposes to extend the current right for employees to request flexible working to all parents of children up to the age of 18.  This begs the question whether mums and dads really do need to take time away from work to care for older children.

June 9, 2008