Ask the Expert: Can we recruit a leader if a team member is off sick?
The question Is it okay to recruit for a team leader from within a team if a member of the team is off sick? They are not on long-term sick leave, just recovering from an operation. What is the legal position here? Legal verdict Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar As […]
News: Police forces consider canning G4S shared services deal
Three UK police forces are reportedly evaluating whether to drop joint plans to outsource 1,100 back office jobs to G4S following its Olympic security staffing debacle. According to the Guardian, the chief constables of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire police met yesterday and agreed to rethink the move. It was stated only last month that […]
Blog: Seven reasons why the FA should try John Terry
Despite the acquittal of Chelsea and England defender, John Terry, for racism by Westminster Magistrates’ Court, there are seven reasons why the Football Association must try him for his comments against Queens Park Rangers player, Anton Ferdinand: 1. What the magistrate actually said to Terry John Terry was acquitted of the criminal charges because […]
Blog: How family-friendly is your organisation?
Any organisation with more than a few employees will have staff that are having children. It’s a big deal, not only for them, but for the employer too. Even though this is the case, many organisations provide little in the way of learning support for these staff. Interestingly those employers that do assist their […]
Retention matters: How to support adoptive parents
The Prime Minister set out plans to create a “fairer and faster” adoption process recently in a bid to help more people adopt. But because the aim is to introduce the changes “as soon as possible,” employers must to be ready to deal with a potential rise in the number of adoptive parents wanting to […]
News: Yahoo appoints pregnant CEO
Female chief executives are still lamentably rare, female chief executives in the hi-tech computer industry even more so. Female chief executives who are pregnant when appointed are hitherto unknown, however. But, refreshingly, search engine company Yahoo has broken the mould by appointing Marissa Mayer as its latest CEO knowing full well that she’s six month’s pregnant. Mayer […]
Ask the Expert: Can a pregnant worker sue for unfair dismissal after 4 month’s employment?
The question An employee has been sacked who is four-and-a-half months pregnant. She had no formal warnings and there were no sanctions on her record. She was also out of her probationary period, which ended three-and-a-half weeks earlier. Her manager was informed of her pregnancy only five days before she was dismissed. No legitimate […]
Legal Insight: How to accommodate Ramadan
Over recent years, workforces have become increasingly diverse. This means that employers now need to take account of a wider range of cultural and religious sensitivities, not least for staff motivation purposes. One important such consideration among Muslim workers is Ramadan, which starts this year on Friday 20 July. Ramadan takes place during the […]
News: New tribunal fees spark outrage across political spectrum
A decision to make claimants pay up to £1,200 to take an employment tribunal claim all the way to a full hearing from next year has sparked outrage across the political spectrum. While unions branded the decision a “disgrace”, employers’ groups attested that the move would have little impact on plans to make workers think […]
News: Whitehall cleaners demand living wage from ministers
Government ministers and the most senior judge in England and Wales were presented with letters from their cleaners yesterday asking to be paid a London Living Wage. The initiative, which is the latest in a series to be organised by campaign group, London Citizens, saw more than 150 cleaners across Whitehall sign and personally deliver […]
Blog: How to offer a benefits package that staff actually want
If your company has an employee benefits package, is it offering your employees what they really want? For employers finding the right employee benefits scheme that helps to motivate and retain staff and that employees actually want can be quite a difficult task, particularly when there are discrepancies between what employers care about and what […]
News: PM pledges legal changes to allow crosses at work
Even if two British Christians lose a landmark European Court case to allow them to wear symbols of their faith at work, David Cameron plans to change UK legislation to let them do so. His stance came to light yesterday during exchanges at Prime Minister’s Question Time, when he was asked about the case of […]
Talking Point: What’s happened to business ethics?
It seems that every time you open a newspaper at the moment, there’s a new business scandal. The fall-out from Barclays Libor-rigging fine continues to be an ongoing story. The scandal has already claimed the scalps of the bank’s chairman and chief executive – and who knows how many more may follow? Barclay’s leadership […]
Ask the Expert: Is someone sacked for gross misconduct entitled to unused leave?
The question Reviewing an employee handbook, I noticed that it includes a clause to the effect that an employee summarily dismissed for gross misconduct will forfeit entitlement to payment for unused leave. Can you advise me as to whether this is lawful? The legal verdict Esther Smith, partner at Thomas Eggar […]
Legal Insight: Bob Diamond – A case of constructive unfair dismissal?
Third party pressure from the Bank of England, combined with the media furore about the fixing of lending rates, appear ultimately to have led to the resignation of Bob Diamond as Barclays’ chief executive. But such scenarios have potential implications for employers. Not only do they need to find the most effective way to manage […]
News: Greater reliance on army reservists ‘could lead to more tribunal cases’
A greater reliance on reservist forces to try and compensate for army job cuts of 20,000 by 2020 could lead to a jump in employment tribunal claims among unwary employers. The coalition government has announced that it will axe 17 major army units over the next eight years, in a move that will see the […]
News: Coaching industry under threat from cowboys
The key challenge facing the coaching industry is the number of untrained individuals who describe themselves as practitioners, which is generating confusion in the marketplace. The sector has now become a nearly $2 billion industry, with around 47,500 professionals practising their craft on a global basis. These are the key findings of a survey commissioned […]
Legal Insight: Playing the Games within the letter of the law
With only a few months to go to the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and amid widespread predictions that London could come to a complete standstill, employers need to start planning now to ensure that they can cope with the many issues that will undoubtedly arise. Transport Inevitably, the Games will cause […]
Case Study: Medtronic introduces global well-being scheme to cut absenteeism
Medtronic introduced a global well-being programme last year in a bid to help its employees deal with damaging health issues ranging from obesity and stress to smoking. As a manufacturer of pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical equipment, the vendor knows the value of good health and has long been committed to improving the wellbeing of […]
Video Interview: Beecroft talks to the TUC – Should it be easier to sack staff?
Venture capitalist Adrian Beecroft has caused controversy with his proposals to make it easier for bosses to fire underperforming employees. In this video debate from The Telegraph, Beecroft debates the issues with Trades Union Congress boss, Brendan Barber.