Apprentice Katie claims three weeks maternity is enough
Katie Hopkins, the ex-Apprentice and reality TV contestant, has sparked another row by appearing on The One Show with a report (which you can view here on iPlayer – it starts at 8.58 minutes) suggesting women should take no more than three weeks off after giving birth. Most people realise being a parent isn’t an […]
US tech giants sued for wage fixing and anti-poaching agreements
A raft of US tech and film giants, including Apple, Google and Pixar, have been sued for anti-competitive behaviour after allegedly undertaking employee wage-fixing and agreeing not to poach each other’s staff. The move follows a probe by the US Department of Justice last year, which resulted in the firms, which also include Lucasfilm, Intel […]
BA employee sacked after YouTube threats to poison ‘scab’ pilot
A British Airways employee was sacked after threatening to poison a strike-breaking pilot’s food and posting a series of other sinister threats on YouTube, an employment tribunal has heard. Bryan Benning, who was based at Heathrow’s Terminal Five, is suing the airline for unfair dismissal, claiming that it was his brother rather than himself who […]
Corporate Manslaughter Act: are you doing enough?
Jim Irving examines new vulnerabilities within businesses when it comes to the legislation and considers how else to best protect staff. As the Corporate Manslaughter Act came into force on 6 April 2008, and with recent new sentencing guidelines recommending appropriate fines to start from £500,000 in the event of a conviction, all companies […]
DRA: frequently asked questions
The law on age and retirement has changed. The Government is phasing out the default retirement age (DRA): how will it affect you? In one of the biggest changes to retirement legislation in recent times, employers are no longer be able to issue notifications of retirement using the DRA procedure. In certain cases it might […]
HP boss wins breathing space over sexual harrassment letter
A letter detailing sexual harassment allegations against former Hewlett-Packard boss Mark Hurd will not be unsealed until September as revealing its contents before he has a chance to plead his case could cause him “irreparable harm”. The letter, written by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred on behalf of former HP contractor Jodie Fisher, triggered a chain […]
Judge ‘league tables’ proposed to improve employment tribunals
The CBI has called for the creation of regional league tables that rate the performance of individual judges as part of proposed reforms to an employment tribunal system it believes has become “a barrier to justice”. The suggestion by the employers’ lobby group came in response to the coalition government’s ‘Resolving Workplace Disputes’ consultation, which […]
The top 10: UK employment law changes in April 2011
April means the first tranche of the year’s employment law changes come into force and the Coalition Government has been busy. Suzanne Horne summarises this April’s top 10 new laws, guidance, rates and limits. 1. Draft guidance published on agency workers regulations On 1 April 2011 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) […]
Ask the expert: Sickness and pay increases
This week the experts, Adam Partington and Esther Smith advise on whether to give a pay increase to an employee on sick pay. The question: Sickness and pay increases I have an employee on long term sick, the SSP has long ended and we are approaching our financial end of year. The other […]
NWM increase: Employer opinion is split
Opinion is split on the impact of increases to the National Minimum Wage, with some employers branding it as “moderate” and others the “wrong increase at the wrong time”. After accepting the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission, the coalition government decided that, as of 1 October this year, the rate for adults would […]
Paternity leave and payroll
With changes to Statutory Paternity Pay due to take effect in April 2011, Mike Bull, Customer Support Manager at Sage UK investigates the impact this will have both for British businesses and individual taxpayers. Nick Clegg’s plans to make parental leave more flexible by allowing mothers and fathers to share time off after a baby’s […]
IT workers preferring contracts over permanent roles
Employers are facing increasingly stiff competition in hiring IT professionals over the year ahead as many are opting to leave permanent employment and move to better paid contracting roles. According to a survey undertaken by recruitment consultancy Hays IT, skills shortages will be particularly marked in areas such as information security, business intelligence and […]
The question: What are the pro-rata company sick pay waiting periods for part-time employees?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer explain what to do about pro-rata sick pay for part time employeees. The question: What are the pro-rata company sick pay waiting periods for part-time employees? Our company operates an organisational sick pay scheme that entitles workers to full pay after they have been off sick […]
Default retirement age: what you need to know
The law on age and retirement is changing. The Government is phasing out the default retirement age (DRA) from April 2011. This guide will help you understand what you need to know. How will the phasing out affect both employers and agencies? From 6 April 2011, subject to Parliamentary procedures, employers will no longer be […]
Delayed Bribery act to be enforced despite scarce resources
Although the UK’s anti-corruption watchdog has branded official guidance to the Bribery Act as a “deplorable” handbook for evasion, the head of the Serious Fraud Office has pledged to take a tough stance on enforcement. The Act, which passed into law last April, is now due to come into force in July. The delay of […]
Paternity leave additions explained
Parents of children born on or after 3 April this year will have more flexibility in relation to their childcare arrangements as the father will be able to take more time off work as additional paternity leave. This will give fathers more opportunity to share the responsibility of childcare with mothers. The new right to […]
Ask the expert: Pay grade – has this employee got a case?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Adam Partington advise on whether an employee could take action against the employer for effectively down-grading them. The question: Pay grade – has this employee got a case? Last year (May 2010) we went into consultation where the role was split into two roles where the current employee […]
Mediation and wellbeing: An all-weather strategy
Conflict in the workplace is as common as a rainy day in the UK. And, like a miserable wet day, workplace disputes have a negative effect on our wellbeing in the workplace. Whilst we can prepare for rain, with stylish wellies and colourful umbrellas, most HR professionals and line managers feel ill-equipped and lack the […]
Will the new paternity leave rights benefit you?
Two out of five new fathers will not take advantage of new paternity leave rights because they cannot afford it, they fear that their career will suffer or they are afraid of losing their jobs. The coalition government introduced new regulations yesterday enabling new fathers to take up to six months paternity […]
Ignore the Bribery Act at your peril, says law firm
Law firm, Prettys, warns companies not to ignore Bribery Act as strict new rules spread to the wider business community. Although implementation of The Act has been delayed, it looks likely to come into force later this year and could extend to normal business conduct that many companies do not realise will be affected. Penalties […]
