Ask the Expert: Can a sacked employee with less than a year’s service claim discrimination?
The question If an employee with less than one year’s service (six months) is instantly dismissed for breaching company policy, is there any legal obligation to hear their side of the story? Other members of staff have been breaching the same rule (use of company vehicles), but have not yet been disciplined – they […]
News: Male air steward loses BA lawsuit over colleague calling him ‘darling’
A male air steward who sued British Airways because a female colleague called him “darling” has had his case dismissed by an employment tribunal. Rothstein Williams, who is 42 years old and a Seventh Day Adventist, sued the airline for discrimination on religious grounds. According to the Daily Telegraph, during a pre-hearing review of […]
News: Kate Bleasdale v Healthcare Locums case turns dirty
The former chairman of Healthcare Locums, Alan Walker, has denied “sexual impropriety” with dismissed chief executive Kate Bleasdale amid allegations of accounting irregularities at the company. Bleasdale, who is representing herself at the London employment tribunal, is suing Walker – and HCL’s board members – for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal. The medical staffing […]
Case Study: Baker & McKenzie attempts to optimise leaders’ performance with 360 degree feedback
International law firm Baker & McKenzie has embedded 360 degree feedback processes into its people strategy in a bid to enable staff “to be the best they can be”. The company provides legal services to multinational companies and financial institutions. It employs more than 3,750 lawyers in 70 countries around the world, including more than […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 2 – Dealing with ‘problem absences’
In the first instalment of this three-part guide to managing sickness absence, we considered both the importance of developing a good policy and how to manage sickness absence on a day-to-day basis. And in this second article, it will become all too clear exactly how important these initial stages are when you are presented with […]
News: Employers can force retirement in ‘public interest’, rules Supreme Court
Employers are within their rights to force employees to retire if they can prove that there is a public interest reason in doing so, according to a landmark legal ruling. The UK’s Supreme Court unanimously dismissed an appeal today by solicitor, Leslie Seldon, who was told to retire by Clarkson Wright & Jakes just after […]
HMRC’s Real Time Information: What you need to know
By law, all employers will have to submit RTI to HM Revenue & Customs by October 2013. This will mean reporting information to HMRC every time they pay their employees instead of summiting a summary form at the end of the tax year. Payroll software will collect the necessary information and send it to HMRC […]
Olympus whistleblower demands answers at shareholder meeting
Former Olympus president and chief executive Michael Woodford has demanded answers over his sacking at a shareholder meeting in Tokyo. Around 1,000 investors approved a new board at the Olympus extraordinary general meeting amid calls from Woodford that it was a “mockery” to claim the group was making a fresh start. Shareholders approved five years’ […]
SMEs refuse staff extra day’s holiday for Diamond Jubilee weekend
Two thirds of small-and-medium-sized companies are refusing to give employees an extra day’s holiday to honour the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, research has revealed. According to the poll of 700 SMEs by business support services company Elas, 62% intend to either open as usual or force staff to take the extra day on Tuesday 5 June […]
Former press officer sues GCHQ for bullying amid “widespread” racism claims
A former senior press officer is suing GCHQ for allegedly having been a victim of “widespread” race discrimination and constructive dismissal after being victimised for making “public interest disclosures” as a whistleblower. Alfred Bacchus claims that his managers bullied him while he was a senior press officer at the government’s secretive spy base in Cheltenham, […]
Construction sector sets up industry-wide forum to boost inclusion
The construction industry has set up an industry-wide forum to try and improve diversity and boost its employment levels among women, ethnic minorities and disabled people. The Construction Industry Leadership Forum for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect was set up following recommendations by the Employment and Human Rights Commission, after two studies on diversity demonstrated the […]
Legal Insight: How to cope with tube strikes
Passengers are expected to face widespread disruption on the London Underground from tomorrow (24 April) due to a four-day strike by maintenance workers that is likely to affect services. The action looks likely to go ahead as planned because talks to avert it ended yesterday without agreement, according to the conciliation service Acas. The […]
Ask the Expert: Should car allowances be included in sick pay?
The question I have a case of someone who is taking long-term sickness absence (eight months). They were paid a combination of statutory sick pay and company sick pay for the first six months, which included their monthly car allowance in full. Their manager has now decided to stop paying the car allowance, saying […]
News: Would you sack someone for blogging about your job offer?
A graduate in the US had his first journalism job offer rescinded after posting the good news on a blog. Kristopher Brooks, who had just completed a graduate journalism course at New York University, was reportedly thrilled to receive a job offer from the News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. As a result, he published […]
Blog: How to hold on to good employees – Part 1
If you want to attract and retain good employees, you need to (1) understand why employees leave a company, and (2) implement employee retention strategies to get them to stay. This article examines the reasons why employees leave their companies. In my next article, I will set out five strategies for keeping hold of your […]
Employers must now provide PAYE reference number for liability records
Employers’ tax reference numbers for PAYE will have to be supplied to a national Employers’ Liability Database as a result of an administrative rule change on 1 April 2012. Since last year, ELD has been collecting details of employers’ cover from brokers and insurers to make it easier for those making claims to […]
Legal Insight: Health matters part 1 – Managing sickness absence
Doom-and-gloom tales about the state of the ailing economy are prevalent at the moment and companies large and small are reportedly taking drastic steps to save money. But if panic has not yet set into your organisation and there are no full-scale redundancy programmes in the offing, consider taking alternative action by reducing costs from […]
MP lobbies to permit maternity leave for mums with surrogate babies
An MP is lobbying to close a “legal loophole” that denies mothers of children born through surrogacy the same entitlement to maternity leave as others. John Healey, local MP for Wentworth and Dearne, took up the case after one of his constituents, Jane Kassim, was told by her employer, Rotherham Council, that she was entitled […]
Blog: 10 tips for minimising unfair dismissal claims
With 218,000 tribunal claims in 2010-11 and almost 25 percent of those for unfair dismissal, it was likely that the government was going to take steps to reduce the number of claims made. The decision was made that the amount of time an employee has to work for an organisation before being able to make […]
Inequalities watchdog slammed over pay gap
The UK’s inequality watchdog has been slammed after admitting that it pays male workers more than females and white employees more than those from ethnic minority backgrounds. The situation came to light just over two years after the Equality and Human Rights Commission had vowed to stamp out pay discrimination among its own workers – […]