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On 17 March 2022 P&O Ferries dismissed approximately 800 employees with immediate effect with the intention of replacing the employees with cheaper agency staff. 

Compensation in the Employment Tribunal is generally based upon actual financial loss. However, in discrimination and detriment for making a protected disclosure claims (colloquially known as whistleblowing) a worker can claim compensation for ‘injury to feelings’. Injury to feelings cannot be claimed for standalone unfair dismissal or constructive dismissal claims.

The term Settlement has been in the news a lot recently following Ms Giuffre reaching the terms of a Settlement with Andrew, thought at one time to be the Queen’s favourite son. It is a dilemma faced by many litigants – whether they should settle their claim or have their day in court. Of course, their day in court may go terribly wrong, they could lose their case after racking up a significant legal bill but if it goes well, they could have public vindication and a finding of culpability against, in this case, the perpetrator of a serious crime.

One of the outcomes of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns/work from home edict is how the workplace has evolved with working from home and hybrid working being feasible for many employees. With many employees being fully vaccinated and self-isolation being somewhat relaxed, you may, as an employer, be considering asking employees to return to the office. 

If you have come to an amicable exit agreement with your employer, you may wonder why you are required to take independent legal advice on the Settlement Agreement. 

The simple answer is yes, in theory, you can. However, each case will depend on the specific circumstances including the reasons for the employee refusing to have the vaccination and the nature of the employer’s business. There has been a recent decision in the Employment Tribunal involving a care home employee who refused to have the vaccination and was subsequently dismissed by the Nursing Home. This care worker was scared of the vaccine, she said she didn’t trust that it was safe. However, the care home suffered from an outbreak of the virus and 33 staff and 22 residents were infected. Sadly, there were also a number of deaths. The Care Home required all of its staff to be vaccinated in December 2020 / January 2021. At that time, there was no legal requirement for care home workers to have the vaccination.