HR Tip: Contractual Changes
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: We have agreed a change in overtime arrangements and thus a change in terms and conditions. Should we issue new contracts? A: No, there is no need to issue new contracts unless […]
HR Tip: New evidence following disciplinary sanction
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: We dismissed an employee following a thorough investigation and properly conducted disciplinary hearing. All the evidence pointed to his guilt. Now however we have received new evidence that shows that he was […]
HR Tip: National Insurance Numbers
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: What can be done to minimise the problem of missing NI numbers? A: Most employers have difficulty in obtaining a National Insurance (NI) number for every employee. Some new employees are just […]
HR Tip: Right to car parking spaces
These questions are being answered by Learn HR, a market leader in the provision of HR and payroll training and nationally-recognised professional qualifications. Q: We need to use part of the existing staff car park for an office extension and the employees are complaining and claiming that custom and practice allows them to continue using the […]
SOSR dismissal: A managerial prerogative?
Alison Wallace, head of employment practice at Steptoe & Johnson solicitors looks at recent case law which sheds some light on the grey area of dismissal for ‘some other substantial’ reason. Section 98 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires an employer to prove the reason for dismissal being either proscribed reasons or for “some […]
Indirect sex discrimination: A clouded view?
A 6ft 10 inch tall graduate recently lost a sex discrimination claim against National Traffic Services, who had first offered him a job and then withdrew it on safety grounds because of his height; Paul Lambdin, Partner in employment at Stevens & Bolton LLP looks at the thorny issue of indirect sex discrimination. The applicant […]
Legal focus: RSI a pain in the neck?
Member, Jo Oxley recently requested some advice on the considerations of taking on a typist who suffers with neck and shoulder problems in response to this we asked Scottish law firm Dundas and Wilson to offer their expert guidance; read on to see their hot tips and pointers. The question: We are recruiting a typist […]
The ‘neurosis’ affliction – screening in the workplace
Carl Laidler, Managing Director of Prevent plc looks at Britain’s obsession with wellbeing and the steady creep towards US style workplace health screening. It is no surprise that levels of neurosis in the UK are increasing when you consider the amount of media coverage dedicated to health. Over the last couple of years you haven’t […]
Information and Consultation – Jaw, Jaw not War, War
Sarah Smith of Bevans solicitors discusses the new Information and Consultation Regulations that came into force in March. If you are an owner, manager or HR manager of a business with more than 150 employees then March was an important month for you and not because it meant that you had a four day bank […]
‘Massive increase in Court Fees to prevent access to justice?’
James Taylor of Bevans Solicitors discusses access to justice. Job satisfaction for Solicitors lies in many areas, but for me, providing access to a civilised system of dispute resolution is high on the list. When I hear tales of the Italian mafia or read of the lawlessness in places like Iraq, I realise what an […]
Bosses fear working time opt-out removal
Employers are keen to hang onto the Working Time Directive opt-out clause; despite embracing new work/life balance initiatives says new research. IRS Employment Review, publishers of the research released today, surveyed 77 organisations covering more than 70,000 people to establish how UK employers organise working hours and their views on the Working Time Directive and […]
Case law: Psychiatric injury and discrimination law
The Court of Appeal has confirmed that an employee can recover compensation for psychiatric injury resulting from an employer's act of race discrimination, even where the employee's reaction is unforeseeable and extreme. Jacqueline McCluskey, Senior Associate at Dundas & Wilson summarises the case and what this means in practice for employers. The Court of […]
Any Answers questions on employment law
To tie in with the launch of HR Zone's new employment law zone, we've highlighted a selection of useful employment law questions that have been answered in the Any Answers area of the site. Does anyone know if equal pay law covers two people doing exactly the same job in different NHS trusts?Helen MathewsRead the […]
Expectant mothers still experience pregnancy discrimination at work
Pregnant women still continue to face problems at work, according to survey results released today during National Pregnancy Week. The survey, which questioned 1200 people, revealed that over a fifth knew an expectant mother who had experienced difficulties at work because of her pregnancy – rising to a third amongst women aged 25-34. Experiences included […]
Online consultation on statutory dispute resolution
The Government has produced a full consultation paper which can be completed online on statutory dispute resolution It should take no more than half an hour to complete in full, but the online consultation has been designed to use even if you can only spare a few minutes. Consultation closes on 29 October 2003. The DTI […]
How dangerous is your work?
Driving a company car while at work nearly tops the league of the most dangerous jobs in Britain claims a leading independent road safety organisation, The Guild of Experienced Motorists (GEM). People who have to drive as part of their employment, covering more than 25,000 miles per year, have as dangerous a working environment as […]
Book review: Understanding TUPE: a legal guide
Title: Understanding TUPE – A Legal GuideAuthor: Stephen HardyPublisher: Chandos Publishing 2001ISBN: 190237567X Buy this book from the TrainingZONE – Blackwells bookshop. I think this must be an essential reference book for anyone dealing with what can be a very complex issue. It provides an overview of the law relating to the transfer of undertakings. […]
Absence/ Sickness/ Leave
Can anyone give me some guidelines (for Managers) their company uses for sickness/Absence and Leave. Angela Coleman
Compensation awards for discrimination reach record levels
A survey by IRS Equal Opportunities Review has found that compensation payments in 2000 rose to nearly £4 million. The survey included all 316 discrimination cases where an award was made. These included one payment of £100,000 for Injury to Feelings, in the case Virdi v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (including £25,000 for […]
Corporate manslaughter verdict
"Companies which flout health and safety laws at the expense of their employees' safety will be made to pay." That is the message sent out to the construction industry today as Wisbech company English Brothers Ltd. was convicted of causing the death of gang-foreman Bill Larkman. The company was fined £30,000 plus £12,500 costs after […]