Grievance Policy

Retailer to pay £25k for failing to make reasonable adjustments

High Street Retailer ordered to pay £25k to a disabled worker after failing to make reasonable adjustments. An Employment Tribunal has ruled that motoring retailer, Halfords Autocentres Ltd, discriminated against an employee with cerebral palsy on the basis of his disability. The employee began working at Halfords Autocentre in Milton Keynes in October 2019. He disclosed his condition during the interview and explained that he struggled with some tasks, such as changing tyres. His condition affected his left side, producing

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2nd November 2023

5 critical steps to a fair disciplinary process

Managing disciplinary issues in the workplace is something few managers relish. However, employers could be exposed to potentially valid unfair dismissal claims if the fundamental basics are not followed. Most organisations will have their own policies and procedures which must be adhered to when managing disciplinary issues. However, those procedures must also comply with the relevant ACAS Code of Practice. Handling a disciplinary issue can be a daunting prospect. In this article we look at 5 steps which are critical

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23rd October 2023

Mediation: An effective and efficient way of resolving workplace conflict

Conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. Everyone has experienced it to some degree. Some conflict can be positive and constructive, if handled appropriately, but without the right process and structure in place it often ends up being damaging and destructive to an organisation. Mediation can be used at any stage in the conflict situation to try and get the working relationship back on track. When disputes occur, it will almost always result in a stressful and unpleasant working environment for

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9th October 2023

Sexual harassment concept with man and woman in office

New duty on employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace

Earlier this year, the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Bill passed through the House of Commons. This private member’s bill initially proposed amendments to the Equality Act 2010 to make employers liable for third-party harassment and to introduce a duty requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. However, following a debate in the House of Lords in July, the new employer liability for third-party harassment has been dropped from the draft

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4th September 2023

Cartoon businessman gymnastic working at office with graph and diagram vector flat illustration. Business male having flexible work time schedule at workplace isolated. Balance and planning concept

How is the right to request Flexible Working changing?

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 now awaits Royal Assent after passing its third reading in the House of Lords. The Flexible Working bill introduces some significant changes to current UK employment law. In this article, we will outline what this means for employers and how they can prepare for flexible working requests within their organisation in readiness for when the bill becomes law. As it currently stands Any employee who has worked in an organisation for 26 weeks

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24th July 2023

Protecting outdoor workers from UV radiation exposure

With the summer months upon us, it is important for employers not to underestimate the seriousness of harmful UV rays, and communicate the importance of applying sun protection to any outdoor workers. Employees who work outdoors have a higher-than-average risk of developing skin cancer. However, a recent YouGov survey commissioned by SC Johnson Professional in April, found that 1 in 3 of participants never apply UV protection cream whilst working outdoors. Reasons cited for this include; they didn’t think it

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29th June 2023

GPs could be told to issue fewer sick notes – what would this mean for HR?

Under government plans to boost the economy, GPs could soon be told to issue fewer sick notes. The number of people out of the labour market due to long-term sickness absence has been rising in recent years. Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that between June and August 2022, around 2.5 million people reported long-term sickness as the main reason for economic inactivity (up from around 2 million in 2019). The Society of Occupational Medicine has reported that: “One-third

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19th June 2023

Are shorts and sliders suitable for the office?

Casual office dress codes were already on the increase before the pandemic, with ‘dress-down Friday’ a popular perk to end the week. However, the pandemic saw a major shift in dress code as workers swapped their traditional business attire for pyjamas and sweatpants, with a ‘zoom shirt’ hanging over the back of their chair for more formal meetings! Employers are increasingly reporting that workplace attire has become more casual since employees returned to the office. Some have actively promoted this

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15th June 2023

New bill guaranteeing tips for hospitality workers

Trade unions and other campaigners have called for legislation to ban unfair tipping practices following media reports in 2015 of employers in UK restaurant chains and the wider hospitality industry taking a proportion of employees’ tips. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Bill is a private member’s bill sponsored by Lord Robathan to introduce a legal obligation on employers to ensure all tips, gratuities and service charges are paid to workers in full, without deductions. The bill makes similar provision for troncs, which are

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30th March 2023

Minimum wage rates are increasing – are you ready?

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) are the legal minimum wage rates that must be paid to employees in the UK and are based on age and apprenticeship level. NMW is the minimum hourly rate of pay for workers under 23 (or first year apprentices) NLW is the minimum hourly rate of pay for workers over 23 years of age On the 1 April 2023, the NLW is increasing to £10.42 per hour, a significant jump from the current

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23rd March 2023

Company fined almost £500k following lorry driver’s fatal fall from height

On 23 April 2018, Christopher Barnes, a lorry driver for haulage company Devereux Developments Ltd, was delivering doors to a site in Gloucestershire when he fell approximately 2.3 meters from the trailer of his vehicle while unstrapping the load. Upon arrival at the site, Mr Barnes opened the curtain doors to his trailer and released the load-securing straps. However, some of the straps were tangled and Christopher’s attempts to free them from ground level were unsuccessful. In an effort to

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9th March 2023

Local authority discriminated against employee by asking her to re-apply for role

Healey v. Lancashire County Council (2021) – Manchester Employment Tribunal The Claimant had been employed by the local authority (the Respondent) since 1995 as an early years’ consultant. In 2012 she was promoted into the role of “lead senior early years’ consultant”, as a “temporary” step up only due to planned restructures. Said restructure did not happen until 2018. She was previously a senior early year’s area team leader, along with 2 colleagues. In 2014 the claimant was diagnosed with

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24th February 2022

Did sending a pregnant woman home during lockdown amount to discrimination?

That is the question the Tribunal had to answer in the recent case of Prosser v Community Gateway Association Ltd and they found, on the facts of this case, that it did not. Ms Prosser was employed by the Association on a zero hours contract, working an average of 4 shifts per month prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Having informed her Line Manager on 13 March 2020 that she was pregnant, she was forwarded a link to the government advice

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9th August 2021

Mediation – An effective and low-cost way of resolving workplace conflict

Conflict in the workplace is unavoidable. Everyone has experienced it to some degree. Some conflict can be positive and constructive, but more often, it can be damaging and destructive to an organisation and intervention will usually be required to get a working relationship back on track. When disputes occur, it will almost always result in a stressful and unpleasant working environment for the people involved and colleagues who have to work alongside them. This can lead to a lack of

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24th May 2021

From time-to-time, we post articles on grievance procedure and grievance policy which we hope you will find useful.

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