News: Collaborative Justice Institute unveiled
In a bid to offer an alternative to traditional adversarial justice, a newly-created institute is aiming to promote the practice of ‘collaborative justice’ instead. The goal of the not-for-profit organisation is to bring practitioners, policy makers, leaders, scholars and other interested parties together in order to find ways of resolving conflict using techniques such as […]
News: Ex-Apple exec sues over alleged ‘job for life’ promise
A former employee is suing Apple for emotional distress after being dismissed last December, claiming that co-founder and chief executive Steve Jobs had promised him a job for life. Ousted executive producer Wayne Goodrich alleges that, during a one-to-one meeting in 2010, Jobs, who died last October after a five-year battle with cancer, had told […]
Blog: Settlement agreements explained
In June, business secretary Vince Cable announced that settlement agreements would be brought in as part of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill which is currently undergoing its second reading in the House of Commons. Settlement agreements are the latest in a long list of employment law reforms drafted by the coalition government in a […]
News: Tesco faces £200k fine for illegal working by foreign students
Tesco faces a fine of up to £200,000 after immigration officials found foreign students to be working illegally at one of its warehouses. According to the Daily Telegraph, UK Border Agency officials arrested 20 students of nearly a dozen nationalities at the site in Croydon, South London last month for alleged breaches of their visa […]
News: Govt evaluates creation of German-style “mini jobs”
The creation of German-style “mini jobs”, which enable workers to earn up to E400 per month tax-free, is being explored by the Treasury in a bid to reduce long-term employment. But according to one German think-tank, the flexible contract system, which was introduced 10 years ago, should be treated with scepticism as it has only […]
Ask the Expert: What do we do about a new hire who hasn’t told us about her disability?
The question We have recently offered a job to someone who gladly accepted it and the contract has now been issued and signed. But just before her start date, she indicated that she has a disability that has an effect both on her health and her ability to carry out the role. We […]
News: Holiday season stress levels rocket for colleagues stuck at work
While some may be off relaxing in sunnier climes, it appears that the rest of us are having to pick up the slack – and are likely to need a holiday of our own when they get back to de-stress. According to a survey among 200 UK-based HR directors conducted by recruitment agency OfficeTeam, a […]
News: Strikes to become “increasingly routine” over year ahead
Although industrial action at the end of last year represented an “acute high water mark”, strikes are becoming “increasingly routine”, which means that employers must implement robust contingency plans, a legal expert has warned. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, almost 1.4 million days were lost to labour disputes last year, four […]
News: EU – Employers must assess staff well-being during redundancy
Employers may have to assess the psychological health of their staff if considering whether to make any of them redundant in future, according to draft European Union proposals. The proposed new directive, which the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on in November, would also mean that bosses had to evaluate the impact of job […]
News: Google’s 10-year “death benefits” have legal implications, warns lawyer
Employers thinking of following in Google’s footsteps and offering staff so-called “death benefits” must protect themselves against a range of potential pitfalls including possible discrimination claims, a legal expert has warned. Laszlo Bock, the search engine giant’s chief people officer, told Forbes magazine last week that it had introduced a policy last year whereby, if […]
Ask the Expert: What happens about holiday for staff on temporarily reduced working hours?
The question If your employees agree to do a four-day instead of the normal five-day week for a temporary period of four months, what happens in regard to their annual leave and bank holiday entitlement? Normally if someone works for four days, they would receive 4/5ths of the usual entitlement but as, in […]
Blog: Should we name and shame bad managers?
Recognise This! – We publicly praise the stars. Should we publicly highlight the truly poor performers as well? Regular readers know I’m a very strong proponent of frequent and public (when appropriate and preferred) recognition of star performers as well as employees who live the values day in and day out, making it possible for […]
Legal Insight: Privacy matters in the Underhill employment tribunal review
On 11 July 2012, the Honourable Mr Justice Underhill unveiled his Fundamental Review of Employment Tribunal Rules, which included recommendations and new draft regulations. One area of the Review that has attracted a lot of interest over recent months relates to matters of privacy, restricted reporting and anonymity during and after tribunal cases, particularly if […]
News: UK workers put in £157.2bn of unpaid overtime each year
UK workers are now putting in around £157.2 billion per year in unpaid overtime every year, with two thirds experiencing soaring stress levels as a result. According to a survey conducted by hotel chain Travelodge, one in ten employees are now cramming in the equivalent of an entire week’s extra work on top of their […]
News: Liberty threatens to sue ICO over blacklisted construction workers
A human rights charity is threatening to sue the privacy watchdog unless it takes immediate action on behalf of thousands of blacklisted construction workers in a scandal that it compares in stature to phone hacking. According to the Independent, Liberty has written to the Information Commissioner, Sir Christopher Graham, accusing him of failing to act […]
News: Unpaid back-to-work schemes declared lawful
Although back-to-work schemes that require jobseekers to undertake unpaid work experience have been ruled lawful, the government could still find itself open to millions of pounds in reimbursement claims from people stripped of their benefits. Cait Reilly, an unemployed graduate, lost her case in the High Court after accusing the government of supporting “forced labour” […]
Legal Insight: Dealing with workplace sexual harassment
Tippi Hedren, the heroine of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, ‘The Birds’, recently told how her movie career was “sabotaged” after she rejected Hitchcock’s advances. Having done so, Hedren was held to her contract – the modern day equivalent of being sent to Coventry. Fast forward to 2012, and if the alleged events happened now, she […]
Blog: Danny Boyle’s secret to enabling creativity on an Olympic scale
Recognise This! – Creativity is not enough without delivery on the promise. I’ll hazard a guess that 100% of my readers watched the Olympics opening ceremony, at least in part, or read about it, or saw elements of it on news coverage. What did you think of it? Most feedback seems to range from “spectacular!” […]
Ask the Expert: What should I include in an absence management policy?
The question What do I need to include in our absence management policies and procedures and what do I need to be wary of? I am particularly interested in the Bradford Factor as I am looking into the possibility of introducing it as a way of triggering return-to-work meetings – can you provide any […]
News: Fraud leaps as employees struggle to make ends meet
High unemployment rates are causing more people than ever to lie on their CV, while pay freezes and squeezed living standards are leading greater numbers of staff to steal. According to an analysis of its staff fraud database by the UK’s fraud prevention service, CIFAS, the amount of successful job application fraud rose by a […]
