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 Draft guidance published on agency workers regulations On 1 April 2011 the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (“BIS”) […]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 […]
IBM settles out of court for bribery campaign
IBM has agreed to pay $10 million to US regulators in order to settle accusations of a decade-long campaign of bribery in China and South Korea out-of-court. The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the world’s largest computer company had given cash and gifts, which included travel and entertainment, to Chinese and South Korean officials […]
Health and safety cuts will put employees at risk
Cuts of a third to the number of automatic health and safety inspections from April will put employees at risk and inevitably lead to more workplace injuries and deaths, lawyers have warned. The Work and Pensions Minister Chris Grayling announced yesterday that automatic inspections would now take place only at high risk installations such as […]
Ask the expert: Accusations – how do we handle bad mouthing of the company?
This time the experts, Esther Smith and Martin Brewer give their advice on what to do about an employee bad mouthing the company at social events in front of clients. The question: Accusations – how do we handle bad mouthing of the company? I’m investigating an accusation by one of our senior staff against a […]
Budget Britain: Save money, banish employee rights…
Balancing the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees is a trite phrase in the HR world. Recent political change coupled with the challenging economic backdrop has shifted this balance, generally, in the favour of employers. Whether the latest government proposals go too far in their fight against the “enemies of enterprise”, depends on your […]
Prepare for childcare tax changes
How is your organisation going to be affected by changes to the tax system in regards to childcare? Expert Rebecca Benneyworth gives her advice. Employers operating childcare voucher and similar schemes will have their work cut out after 5 April if new employees join the scheme. Changes brought forward to reduce the cost of the […]