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HR / Employment Law News

Three business professionals laughing in an office with a city skyline in the background.

Calling women ‘birds’ amounts to harassment related to sex

A former employee at investment company Whisky 1901 Ltd has been awarded more than £50,000 in compensation after she complained about colleagues making ‘derogatory’ remarks about women. Ms Chung told the Tribunal that derogatory remarks, including the term ‘birds’, was used by co-workers who also boasted of their sexual conquests, creating an uncomfortable work environment for herself and other female employees. The events took place between August and November 2022, during which time a male colleague also asked if Ms

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22nd October 2024
Group of friends celebrating at a festive party with champagne and decorations.

Is it the end of the work Christmas party?

Is it too early to mention the ‘C’ word? It might only be October but it’s likely many organisations are already thinking about their Christmas party or have booked it already. The annual Christmas party is a great way to show employee appreciation, reward staff and boost morale. However, with organisations cutting back on costs and the risks of inappropriate behaviour that these celebrations can often present, is it time to rethink your end of year bash? Whilst Christmas parties are

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15th October 2024
Close-up of a woman with a serious expression, tinted in blue.

Sickness Absence: How to stay on top when temperatures drop!

Summer is now a distant past as the cold weather approaches and the nights close in. Absence is always a concern for employers, but this can escalate during the winter months when cold and flu viruses are rife and the days colder and shorter. If not managed correctly, sickness absence can result in financial costs to the employer as well as disruption to colleagues in the workplace. In this article we discuss what employers can do to stay on top

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10th October 2024
Illustration of a man holding a magnifying glass in front of a search bar, symbolising online search and digital research.

Avoid falling foul of a subject access request!

Employers inevitably process significant amounts of personal data relating to their employees. This means employers are Data Controllers and are bound by the rights their employees have as Data Subjects. Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of those rights is to ask their employers for copies of any personal data relating to them. These are known as Data Subject Access Requests and are sometimes referred to as SARs or DSARs. Personal data is any information relating to

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23rd September 2024
Close-up of a person using a smartphone with a floating email notification icon showing 19 unread messages.

Breaching workers’ right to switch off could result in increased Employment Tribunal awards

Labour’s campaign pledge to introduce a ‘right to switch off’, as there is in Ireland and Belgium, is a mechanism designed to allow workers to separate their work and home lives and will provide for the right to refuse to take on extra work at weekends. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, employees must not work more than 48 hours a week on average unless there is a separate opt-out agreement in place. Ireland’s right to disconnect was established via

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27th August 2024
Person holding a restaurant bill and credit card while dining with friends at a wooden table.

Avoid Tipping Point! Prepare for the Allocation of Tips Bill with EML

The main provisions of the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 were laid before Parliament on 31 July. Here’s a quick recap on what this legislation will require of employers when it’s implemented on 1 October. Currently, cash tips tend to go straight to the staff member they’re given to (subject to there being no contractual provisions to the contrary). However, tips paid by card usually go directly to the employer and are often only partially passed on (currently, deductions

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20th August 2024
Judge holding a gavel, preparing to make a ruling in a courtroom setting.

Actions of City Council’s ‘windy’ manager amounted to age discrimination

A caretaker for Birmingham City Council has won a tribunal case after he was subject to a series of incidents involving bullying and threats of violence, including his manager deliberately breaking wind on him while he was eating lunch. This incident occurred just two months after the caretaker, who was granted anonymity by the tribunal, joined the council in October 2020.  The tribunal heard how his manager was said to have found it ‘amusing’ to break wind on his younger

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14th August 2024
Business professionals shaking hands during a meeting, symbolising partnership and collaboration.

Labour pledge to repeal anti-strike law: What employers need to know

In a move to ‘reset’ industrial relations across the country, Labour have confirmed they will scrap the anti-strike law that was introduced by the Conservatives last year. Following a prolonged disruption in public sector services in the wake of industrial action, the Conservatives introduced the controversial Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 which allowed ministers to enforce minimum service levels in key sectors including education, health and transport. The new measures allowed employers to provide ‘work notices’ to employees who

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8th August 2024
Official Olympic Rings with a paint splatter effect, featuring blue, black, red, yellow, and green interlocking circles.

Advice for employers during the Olympic Games

The Paris 2024 Olympics are well under way with Team GB soaring up the medal table, currently sitting pretty in fifth place! Famous for history and tradition, the Olympics is a time for nations across the world to come together and enjoy an array of sports, some of which we are not so familiar with, which just adds to the excitement. However, during the games, employers might find themselves with an influx of holiday requests and a spike in sickness

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31st July 2024
Downing Street SW1 street sign in the City of Westminster, London, mounted on a beige stone wall.

What does the Government’s ‘New Deal for Working People’ mean for employers?

During the election campaign, the Labour Party’s ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’ (the New Deal for working people) proposed significant employment law reforms which focused on employment issues such as low wages, zero hours contracts and fire and rehire. The Labour Government delivered its first King’s Speech on 17 July which promised to introduce an Employment Rights Bill within the first one hundred days of office and committed to delivering the following: Zero hours contracts The Government has confirmed it will

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23rd July 2024
Judge's gavel next to wooden blocks displaying the year 2024.

5 key employment law changes still to come in 2024

There are a number of significant employment law changes due to be introduced before the end of the year with the aim of enhancing employee rights and improving working conditions. Here are some of the key changes you need to be aware of: 1) TUPE – 1 July 2024 The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 will amend certain rules relating to TUPE transfers and consultations. To help streamline the consultation process, small organisations with fewer than

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1st July 2024
Young woman in a therapy session, sitting thoughtfully with a counselor in the background.

Government introduces new ‘WorkWell’ pilot scheme

Last month, the Department for Work and Pensions and Department of Health and Social Care announced the launch of ‘WorkWell’ pilots, part of the Government’s £2.5 billion ‘Back to Work Plan’ aimed at providing support for people with long-term health conditions, disabilities, and long-term unemployment in their local area, so they can stay in work or return to work. The new £64 million scheme will be rolled out from October 2024 in 15 areas in England and comes following the

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24th June 2024
Orange lifebuoy attached to a wooden post on a sandy beach with the sea in the background.

Coastguard volunteer classed as ‘worker’ by the Employment Appeal Tribunal

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that a volunteer for the Coastguard Rescue Service (CRS) was a ‘worker’ when performing activities for which he was entitled to claim payment. Mr Groom was a volunteer Coastal Rescue Officer (CRO) for the CRS and worked under a volunteer agreement. The handbook described membership of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as ‘entirely voluntary’ and stated that the relationship between MCA and its volunteers was a ‘voluntary two-way commitment where no contract of employment

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19th June 2024
Volunteers sorting food and clothes at a donation centre.

Why volunteering is good for business

This week is Volunteers’ Week (3-9 June) which is an opportunity to recognise the contribution people make through volunteering. An estimated 14.2 million people in the UK volunteered through a group, club or organisation in 2021/22. Research from Pilotlight indicates that approximately 6 million of the UK workforce utilise their work skills for volunteering, benefitting over 8,000 charities and social enterprises every year.  Benefits to the volunteer Volunteering is a great way to make a difference and give something back,

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4th June 2024
Judge's gavel resting on a desk in an empty courtroom.

Employee with severe Menopause symptoms wins claim of disability discrimination

An administrator who worked at a crane hire business for 27 years and whose manager ignored her complaints, has won a disability discrimination case relating to menopause. The tribunal heard how the claimant’s symptoms had a ‘profound’ impact on her ‘day to day activities’ and ‘it felt to her like she had a goldfish bowl on her head’.  The claimant experienced a wide range of both mental health and physical symptoms including, low mood, anxiety, low self-esteem, tiredness, fatigue and

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29th May 2024

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