BL7106 Employment Law and Practice
ASSESSMENT 001 is made up of TWO parts:
a 1,000 word legal advice based on a case study AND
a 2,500 word essay on a topical employment law issue.
You must do BOTH parts.
This assessment accounts for 75% of the overall mark for the module (Case Study: 25%, Essay: 50%.) .
ASSESSMENT 001 PART 1: CASE STUDY, LEGAL ADVICE (1,000 WORDS.)
Three years ago Roderick was appointed to the role of Deputy Registrar for Norfolk County Registry Office. He is based in the register office at County Hall, Norwich.
His main duties include: collecting and recording details of all births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships in the area, completing computerised and paper records, issuing birth or death certificates, informing the coroner if there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding a death, collecting statistics to send to the General Register Office, taking payment for copies of certificates and keeping accurate records.
He and his colleagues also perform marriage, civil partnership, citizenship and naming ceremonies at register offices and other venues.
Having assisted several of his more senior colleagues during marriage and civil partnership ceremonies – and been commended for his excellent interpersonal skills, attention to detail and customer service performance – he was promoted to the role of registrar three weeks ago.
A week later Roderick performed his first marriage as Registrar, officiating at a same- sex marriage. He was a little nervous on the day, but the occasion went ahead smoothly. Unfortunately, at the very end of the official ceremony, he turned to the newly-married couple and said: “I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Roderick was mortified at his mistake and began to apologise, but pandemonium ensued, with the couple and their guests verbally abusing him and accusing him of homophobia and incompetence.
As he was returning to the office from the wedding venue Roderick received a text from his manager, Stuart, asking him to come to his office as a matter of urgency.
Stuart – the Senior Registrar and Office Manager – seemed very angry when Roderick entered the room and shouted:
‘I’ve just had a call about your 2pm ceremony. What the hell were you playing at? You’ve ruined their big day and they’re livid. How could you be so insensitive?’
‘It was a slip of the tongue’, Roderick replied, ‘of course I meant to say “husband and husband”, but I was a bit nervous, and it just slipped out’.
‘They said you didn’t seem bothered and had laughed at them. Couldn’t you at least have said sorry?’
‘But that’s not true: I did apologise! Of course I did, but they wouldn’t listen and stormed out of the room.’
‘Well I’m sorry, but if you can’t manage a simple thing like that then I’ve no place for you on my team. You’d better get your things and leave. Go on: get out!’
Roderick left the Town Hall immediately and has not returned to the office.
The council has just received an ET1 from Roderick in which he claims he was unfairly dismissed.
Advise the Council as to the merits of Roderick’s claim. You must explain the relevant current legal provisions relating to unfair dismissal. Your advice should include references to relevant statute law and case law. You should also give a legal opinion on whether Roderick’s claim is likely to be successful and advise on what actions the Council should take in respect of his claim.
Your answer for the case study should include:
An explanation of the relevant law (including case law)
Application of the law to the facts of the case study
Relevant conclusions and legal advice
ASSESSMENT 001 PART 2: 2,500 WORD ESSAY.
You are required to research and write an essay on a topical area of individual employment rights.
(Word limit – 2,500 words)
You may use a title from the two shown below or you may write on a topic of your own choosing. If you decide to choose a topic of your own your title
MUST be approved by week 6. You will need to identify an area where there
have been recent developments or which is under debate. You will also need to consider public policy issues related to your topic.
ESSAY TITLE ONE
‘Gay’ cakes, veils and crucifixes: in the battle between conflicting rights, judges are left floundering in No Man’s Land, struggling to reconcile the irreconcilable.
Taking the above statement as your starting point, critically analyse the approach taken by the English and European courts to applying the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 in cases where the protection given to religious beliefs conflicts with the rights of others.
You should refer to relevant case law, legislation and international agreements where appropriate.
ESSAY TITLE TWO
According to Professor Simon Deakin of Cambridge University:
‘There is much at stake in the classification of work relations: on the one hand, the stability of the tax base and the capacity of the state to deliver public goods; on the other, the structure of enterprise and the rights of workers in the ‘gig’ economy and beyond. Classification decisions, however, are made using legal concepts which many view as artificial and manipulable, to the point where it is hard to discern the considerations which are actually guiding decisions.’
Deakin, S (2020) [Decoding Employment Status] King’s Law Journal, 31:2, 180-193.
In the light of the Professor Deakin’s comments, explain the legal problems which arise in current English law because of the uncertainty over employment status and the rights of working people and critically analyse the approach taken by the courts in trying to resolve those problems.
You should refer to relevant case law, legislation and international agreements where appropriate.
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