European Court Of Human Rights Okays Employer’s Access To Personal Communications

The European Court of Human Rights recently ruled in Bărbulescu v. Romania (Application no. 61496/08) that a Romanian employer did not violate its employee’s fundamental right of privacy when the employer accessed personal messages in the employee’s Yahoo! Messenger account. Numerous newspapers and other media sources quickly declared employee privacy dead as a result of the ruling – and the Court was sufficiently alarmed by the mischaracterization of the case that it issued a […]

By | January 28th, 2016 ||

The Partridge Family Status Claim: Ontario Court Of Appeal Upholds Johnstone Test For Discrimination

In a bulletin published last year, we advised readers of the Federal Court of Appeal (“FCA”) decision in Johnstone v. Canada Border Services Agency (“Johnstone”), which affirms that parental childcare obligations are included under the protected ground of family status under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The decision set out a four-part test to establish discrimination on the basis of family status relating to childcare accommodation.

In another bulletin, we advised readers of […]

By | January 25th, 2016 ||

UK: What’s New For Employment Law In 2016?

Readers may be glad to know that there is (perhaps) a less-busy year on the horizon in terms of changes to UK employment law. However, there are still several developments of which employers should be aware:

Greater protection for zero-hours workers – As reported here, zero-hours workers have been given greater protection from employers who try to enforce exclusivity clauses which prevent workers joining other employers while engaged under a zero-hours contract.
Introduction of the […]

By | January 21st, 2016 ||