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 […]
News: Mother loses dead son’s disability discrimination case against Amazon
A mother has lost the disability discrimination case lodged against Amazon in a bid to fulfil the wish of her dying son, a former employee of the online retailer. David Peregrine, who was only 36, launched his suit against the shopping web site after being sent home without pay from its Swansea, South Wales-based distribution […]
How to accommodate disabled workers in a post-Remploy world
It isn’t often that workplace disability rights make national headlines. But following recent news that 27 Remploy factories – including five dedicated to employing disabled people – will be shut, that has certainly been the case. Disability activists and employment specialists have been publicly rethinking what equal access to work means and how society […]
News: Asian postman gets £100,000 payout for exposing racism
A postman has received a £100,000 payout after blowing the whistle on “endemic racism” at his workplace, which resulted in him and other Asian colleagues being branded as “cockroaches” and “vermin”. Abdul Musa, who was supported in his claim by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, worked at the Royal Mail‘s Canterbury Street sorting office […]
Blog: More cost for employers – Sick workers and annual leave
Workers’ entitlement to holiday pay whilst off sick continues to prove problematic for businesses. In a decision just issued by the Court of Appeal, NHS Leeds v Janet Larner, the Court has confirmed that workers are entitled to annual leave which accrues while they are off sick, even where they have not made any request […]
News: Racial victimisation ruling for black footballer to be contested
Gillingham Football Club intends to contest an employment tribunal ruling that found it guilty of racial victimisation and unfair dismissal against sacked striker, Mark McCammon. The former Barbados international player made UK legal history yesterday by becoming the first black footballer to successfully bring such a claim against a professional football club. He took […]
News: “Unemployable” Robin Hood airport tweeter finds a job
A former trainee accountant who described himself as "unemployable" following his conviction for sending a menancing tweet to Robin Hood Airport during the blizzards of January 2010 has finally got a new job. Paul Chambers, who celebrated on steps of the High Court last Friday after the conviction was overturned, told his Twitter followers on […]