Posts from the ‘Employment’ Category
If you’ve been exposed to excessive levels of noise in the course of your employment, and have difficulty with your hearing, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Many jobs and workplaces require employees to work in environments where noise levels and patterns are potentially hazardous to hearing. As stated above employers have a responsibility to provide their employees with adequate protection against this noise. If this protection is missing or flawed, the result can be serious and long-lasting damage to hearing and can result in noise induced hearing loss, also referred to as industrial deafness, for which you may claim compensation.
We have been dealing with noise induced hearing loss and tinnitus claims for some time and have considerable expertise in this area. We have pursued claims against the Police, Prison Service and Ministry of Defence on behalf of former and current personnel. We have also successfully pursued claims against employers engaged in manufacturing or other trades that employ noisy processes or use noisy machinery.
If you think you may have a claim for noise induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus please contact us to discuss how to proceed.
Thompsons Solicitors. Experience. Integrity. Results.
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2012 has set new compensation limits for redundancies and unfair dismissals in Northern Ireland. The new limits came into force on 1 February 2013.
The limit on a week’s pay, used to calculate redundancy payments or for unfair dismissal compensation, has gone up to £450 from £430. The maximum compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims has risen from £72,300 to £74,200.
Minimum basic awards have also been raised. They have risen to £5,500 from £5,300 for unfair dismissal or selection for redundancy on grounds related to union membership or activities, as well as dismissals for health and safety cases, and those concerning employee representatives and trustees of occupational pension schemes.
If the dismissal occurs before 1 February 2013, the old limit still applies even if compensation is awarded after that date.
Unlimited compensation continues to apply to discrimination claims, the compensatory award for whistleblowing and protected health and safety dismissals.
If you’ve been exposed to excessive levels of noise in the course of your employment, and have difficulty with your hearing, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
From, at least, 1963 onwards (although arguably before), employers have had a legal duty to monitor the level of noise in the workplace and to protect their employees from excessive exposure as it became known that noise in the workplace could cause hearing loss. Where the noise is assessed as being excessive they are required to take reasonable steps to reduce the noise levels. Where this is not possible they have been required to provide and enforce the wearing of hearing protection.
Many jobs and workplaces require employees to work in environments where noise levels and patterns are potentially hazardous to hearing. As stated above employers have a responsibility to provide their employees with adequate protection against this noise. If this protection is missing or flawed, the result can be serious and long-lasting damage to hearing and can result in noise induced hearing loss, also referred to as industrial deafness, for which you may claim compensation.
If you have previously been exposed to high levels of noise at work and you now find that you have to turn the volume on your television or radio up, or cannot follow a conversation where there is background noise, or have difficulty hearing the telephone or doorbell, then you may be suffering from noise induced hearing loss. Hearing loss may or may not be accompanied by tinnitus – a ringing, whistling, humming or buzzing in one or both ears. You may also be entitled to claim compensation for tinnitus caused by exposure to excessive noise in the workplace (when not accompanied with hearing loss). Read more
In a decision given in March 2012, an Industrial Tribunal in Northern Ireland has held that an employee was fairly dismissed for making vulgar comments about a female colleague on his Facebook page.
In the case of Teggart -v- Tele Tech UK Limited, the Tribunal held that an employee was fairly dismissed because comments which he posted on his Facebook page amounted to harassment of a female colleague and breached the employer’s Dignity at Work Policy.
The claimant was employed at a call centre in Belfast. He posted obscene comments about a female colleague on his Facebook page from home. The comment mentioned his employer’s name and was read by some other work colleagues. It was alleged that the comment had been brought to the employer’s attention by a member of the public. The female colleague heard about the comments and asked the claimant’s girlfriend if he would remove them. However that led the claimant to simply post further comments. Read more
The case of HMRC -v- Reed Employment may have serious implications for umbrella companies and other employment businesses.
The landmark case has found Reed Employment, a leading employment agency, to be liable for £158m in back taxes, after 500,000 temps were reimbursed for expenses, which should have been paid as salary.
For more see here.
Northern Ireland Law 