Business unprepared for bribery act
Too many UK employers are still unaware of and unprepared for the changes to business policies and procedures required when the Bribery Act comes into force on 1 July, a law firm has warned. According to a survey undertaken among directors and senior managers at 120 companies with annual turnover of more than £100 million […]
Appeal for HR panel to oversee ‘gagging orders’ at Suffolk County Council
The leader of the Liberal Democrats at Suffolk County Council has called for the creation of an HR panel to oversee the payment of ‘gagging orders’ following huge increases in expenditure to silence disgruntled staff. Councillor Kathy Pollard told the Bury Free Press that she was concerned but not surprised after it emerged that secret […]
Pay inequality growing – and bad for business
Pay inequality is rocketing in the UK, with top private sector bosses set to earn a massive 214 times more than average wage earners by 2020, an investigation has found. According to an interim report published by the High Pay Commission, which is funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, executive renumeration is now “out […]
Gordon Ramsay faces family employment tribunal
The ongoing feud between Gordon Ramsay and his wife’s family has taken a new twist after it emerged that his mother-in-law intends to take him to an employment tribunal. According to the Daily Mail, Greta Hutcheson’s son Adam and grandson Christopher Luke also plan to join her in suing the celebrity chef for alleged unfair […]
Publishing company forced to pay uncontracted intern
In a groundbreaking case, a publishing company has been ordered to pay an intern £1,000 in damages after an employment tribunal ruled that she was classed as a worker under the law, despite having no written contract. Former intern Keri Hudson, 21, who had worked for two months at the My Village web site last […]
Employment law changes ‘creating uncertainty’
Employers groups have warned that the coalition government’s continued “tinkering” with employment legislation is creating “huge uncertainty” and undermining its goal of encouraging businesses to take on new staff. The criticism came following the launch of a “modern workplaces” consultation by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Home Secretary Theresa May yesterday, which outlined four key […]
Employment law reforms may leave employees unprotected
Employees could have less protection against redundancy and workplace discrimination under coalition government proposals to revamp UK employment law. Chancellor George Osborne told the Institute of Directors’ annual convention in London yesterday that the aim of his “wholesale review” of employment legislation was to support job creation in the private sector. He would do this […]
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 […]