News: Viral resignation email proves ‘money isn’t enough for disgruntled staff’
“Throwing money” at disgruntled employees rarely works into the long-term as Kieran Allen’s very public resignation email, which went viral after being posted on Twitter, has proved, according to a marketing recruiter. Allen, a senior account manager at UK media planning and buying agency, MEC Global, which is part of the WPP Group, sent the […]
News: Former TA chief: UK employers’ discrimination in hiring “despicable”
The former head of the Territorial Army has called for financial incentives and the tightening of UK legislation in a bid to prevent employers from routinely discriminating against reservists during the recruitment process. In an interview with the Telegraph, the Duke of Westminister, one of the country’s richest men and a two-star major general who […]
Ask the Expert: Can staff change the goalposts over maternity leave?
The question I have a staff member who has taken all of her Ordinary Maternity Leave and is now into Additional Maternity Leave. Prior to the leave starting, she notified us that she wished to return during her AML (to come back in September), but would take an additional period of holiday so that […]
News: Employers believe ‘protected conversations’ will lead to bullying
A worrying two thirds of employers believe that the government’s ‘protected conversation’ proposals will lead to abuse, acting as a smokescreen for threats and bullying that would otherwise constitute a breach of contract. However, a mere 13% of those questioned in a survey undertaken by law firm Pannone said that they would refrain from taking […]
Ask the Expert: What legal issues do well-being initiatives generate?
The question I have been asked to introduce some health and well-being initiatives into our workplace. Where should I start and are there any particular legal issues/pitfalls that I need to be aware of? The legal verdict Esther Smith, a partner at Thomas Eggar Where to start indeed! There is pretty […]
News: Lawyers disagree over impact of tribunal “shake-up” proposals
Vince Cable’s so-called tribunal system “shake up” has sparked disagreement among lawyers as to how significant the impact on employers is likely to be. The Business Secretary confirmed today that the controversial ‘no fault dismissal’ proposals made in a Downing Street-commissioned report by venture capitalist, Adrian Beecroft, were being dropped due to a lack of […]
Legal Insight: National Minumum Wage – How to avoid being named and shamed
The first employer was outed this month under a “naming and shaming” scheme designed to highlight breaches of the National Minimum Wage Act. Norman Lamb, who until the recent government reshuffle was minister for employment relations, named the afore-mentioned employer as Leicester-based Rita Patel. Following an investigation by HM Revenue & Customs, Patel, who […]
News: Govt rush to offload public sector jobs leads to hike in tribunal claims
The coalition government’s rush to offload public sector jobs onto the private sector led to a 37% hike in TUPE-related employment tribunal claims last year, according to lawyers. Cases relating to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 have been the only form of employment dispute to increase significantly over the last two […]
News: Two whistleblowers find themselves vindicated
Two whistleblowers, one employed by the UK’s Care Quality Commission and the other a US former banker at UBS, both found themselves vindicated in their actions this week. Dame Jo Williams, who stepped down as chairman of the health regulator last week, was forced to apologise to a hearing of MPs for making public allegations […]
News: Govt plans to axe employer safety checks garner mixed response
Government plans to exempt hundreds and thousands of businesses from “burdensome” health and safety inspections as part of its pledge to cut business red tape have garnered a mixed response. Under a binding statutory code that is due to be introduced in April 2013, proactive checks will no longer be routinely carried out on premises […]
Ask the Expert: How can we avoid ageism claims over gym membership?
The question The way that our business is currently set up is as an Industrial Provident Society, which means that employees can buy a share in the company and also receive free gym membership for a friend or family member (employees already have membership themselves). But we are now having to change our legal […]
News: “Real likelihood” of coordinated strikes by year end, warns Unite
The leader of the UK’s biggest union has warned that there is a “real likelihood” of a fresh wave of coordinated public sector strike action before the end of the year. Speaking on the eve of the annual TUC Congress, which opens in Brighton on Sunday, Len McCluskey, Unite’s general secretary, said that the pensions […]
Legal Insight: The HR implications of pensions auto-enrolment
From 1 October this year, pension auto-enrolment will start to affect the UK’s largest businesses. While a lot of these employers will already have got to grips with fundamental issues such as identifying their staging date and considering which pension scheme to use to satisfy the new legislation, there are a number of HR implications […]
Talent Spot: Community blogger, Christina Lattimer
Christina Lattimer, owner of HR and leadership development consultancy People Discovery, has been tackling HR issues for all of her working life, even if she didn’t take up her first official HR position until 10 years ago. “I’ve only been a pure HR specialist since 2002 and was a business manager for lot of years […]
News: European religious discrimination cases could shake up UK employment law
Employers may be obliged to “accommodate expression of religion” by their workers if four Christians win a key test case on religious discrimination heard at the European Court of Human Rights today. Two of the Christians – British Airways check-in clerk Nadia Eweida and NHS hospital nurse Shirley Chaplin – who were refused the legal […]
News: ‘Zero-hours’ NHS contracts branded risky “untested experiment”
An increasing use of ‘zero-hours’ contracts by NHS Trusts trying to make the coalition government’s reforms workable amounts to an “untested experiment” that is putting patient safety at risk, critics have warned. According to the Independent, a number of Trusts including Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, South Gloucester and University Hospitals Bristol are currently turning to the […]
News: State pension age rises to create “limbo zone” for older workers
Increases in the state pension age will lead to the creation of a new “limbo zone” in which many workers are too young to draw their pension but too old and infirm to work. The TUC issued the warning on releasing an analysis of official labour market data, which revealed that a mere 54% of […]
Blog: Disabled workers – Making reasonable adjustments
Most people will no doubt be familiar with the concept of ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate employee disabilities, facilitate a return to work after sickness absence etc. But often that’s when we get a bit stuck for ideas of how to actually do this in practice – in fact we often rely on the person who requires […]
Ask the Expert: Can employers simply take food allowances away?
The challenge A friend is a residential carer at an organisation that looks after multiple residents with learning difficulties. The job is shift-based and includes sleepovers. Historically, the company has included a food allowance for resident carers (it covers shopping for sustenance while onsite). Due to the nature of service users, carers prepare food […]
Legal Insight: How to prevent grievances from becoming constructive dismissal claims
In the recent case of Assamoi v Spirit Pub Company (Services) Ltd, it became clear that resolving an employee’s grievance quickly in their favour could prevent a manager’s conduct from escalating into a fundamental breach of contract – and ending up in defeat in a constructive dismissal claim. It also reminded employers that once they […]