The claimant was invited to attend a meeting, but sufficient warning was not given that it would be formal or that dismissal could potentially be one of the outcomes. A ten-minute meeting, which was not documented, resulted in Mr. Horn’s contract being terminated on the grounds of ill health. The Employment Tribunal (ET) ruled that Horn’s dismissal was unfair and that he had been subject to discrimination in relation to his disability. The verdict was cast on the basis that the meeting that was held involved ‘no meaningful discussion’ and no alternative options were provided to the claimant. It was also held that HR had not applied fair consideration to his disability when making the decision to dismiss him.
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Christa Ackroyd loses IR35 appeal against HMRC 29 October 2019
TV presenter Christa Ackroyd has lost her appeal against HMRC relating to an underpayment of tax and National Insurance.
Ackroyd is a British presenter and journalist who was classed as self-employed during the period of 2001-2013 in which she worked for the BBC on the show ‘Look North’. She was paid for her services via a Personal Service Company (PSC) but it has been concluded that she should have been treated and paid in the same manner as an employee, which has resulted in her receiving a substantial tax bill relating to this period of employment. The main counter to the journalist’s appeal was that she would have been classed as employed had she provided her services directly to the client, without the involvement of a PSC and that the BBC dictated what Christa worked on and when and exerted high levels of control around her work, much like the treatment of someone with deemed employee status. She contested a previous ruling which stated that she would have to pay over £400,000 in relation to underpaid tax, but she has lost the appeal and must pay what she owes across to HMRC.
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Samira Ahmed vs. BBC: tribunal over equal pay 30 October 2019
The BBC is appearing in court this week against one of its presenters, Samira Ahmed, who alleges that she has been disproportionately paid as a direct result of her gender.
Ahmed refers to the pay she received for her work on Newswatch, which is a 15-minute programme that seeks feedback from the public relating to the content delivered on the BBC. Points of View is another BBC offering, presented by Jeremy Vine, which Ahmed argues covers the same ground as Newswatch. She reveals that whilst she received £440 per show, Vine could command up to £3,000 per episode of Points of View, and she argues that the work undertaken by each presenter was comparable and therefore, their pay packets should have reflected this. Coverage from The Guardian details how Ahmed was joined by fellow female colleagues and received applause when she arrived at the court on the morning of Monday 28 October. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is representing the presenter and will assert that Ahmed is entitled to equivalent pay for equivalent work, suggesting that the gender pay gap at the BBC is ‘monumental’. It is expected that the BBC’s legal team will counter with the argument that the programmes are different in their formats and are also aimed and intended for different demographics. The BBC did publish its gender pay gap report results for 2019 which alluded to a reduction in the gap for that year but it did acknowledge and address the issue of having too few women engaged in more senior ranked positions. The mean gender pay gap for 2019 was reported as being at 6.8%.
The tribunal is expected to span over the next seven days and the CIPP will report any updates or results of the case in our News On Line articles to keep you all informed.
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The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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