Blog

Is workplace conflict costing you more than you think?

When it comes to Mediation in the workplace and managing the wellbeing of your team, any concerns must be dealt with effectively. If not, they could escalate to much more serious problems such as stress-related absenteeism, grievances and even tribunal claims. According to this year’s report from ACAS ‘Estimating the Costs of Workplace Conflict’, 485,800 employees resign each year as a result of conflict. This analysis also estimates a total cost of £28.5 billion to businesses due to poor management

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24th May 2021

Are you ready to step it up when it comes to HR?

Take advantage of our cloud-based HR Software Solution that’s more organised than a spreadsheet and ready to use anytime, anywhere. Compatible with all mobile devices, tablets and smartphones, it’s easy to manage your HR effectively for businesses working remotely, maintaining full control over the day-to-day HR management. Some key features include: Employee database: Easy access to employees’ contracts, holiday and absence records, pay details, appraisals, training and performance reviews as well as time-tracking and expenses. Holiday and absence management: Clear visibility of

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20th May 2021

You are not alone….

91 million working days are lost annually in the UK due to mental health issues, costing £30 billion per year. The COVID pandemic has resulted in mental health support and employee wellbeing becoming more of a priority than ever before. With more and more people suffering from isolation and anxiety caused by lockdown, employers have a duty of care to up the ante when it comes to their support. More people are working remotely, so they may feel the affects of

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18th May 2021

How can you support your team’s wellbeing?

Over the past year, we’ve all had to deal with change. Change in the way we live, work and socialise. These changes have meant that the mental health and wellbeing of employees has had to become a focus for employers. With 30.9% (7.4 million adults) people reporting that their well-being has been affected by loneliness in 2020, suggesting a direct link with remote working, employers have a legal duty to take practical steps in helping their employees. In this article,

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10th May 2021

Burnout: The early signs to look out for as an employer & how to tackle it

Following the past year, it’s no surprise that psychologists are reporting a rise in “pandemic burnout” according to The Guardian. Many people have found themselves isolated with financial difficulty, on top of the obvious health concerns. Reports are showing significant percentages when it comes to people feeling the pressures of working from home. For example, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope according to the

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12th April 2021

Revised Vento bands confirmed as tribunal system review is published

When making an award for injury to feelings, most commonly in discrimination cases with potential for such awards to also be made in other detriment based claims (following clarification by the EAT in the case of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue v Mansell), an Employment Tribunal will base their calculations on the guidelines and bands set out in the Court of Appeal case Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, more commonly known as Vento. The purpose of that award

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31st March 2021

sleep in shift

Supreme Court rules that Sleep-In shifts are not working time for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Regulations

In the judgement of Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson Blake, the Supreme Court finally decided the issue of whether workers should be paid National Minimum Wage when on ‘sleep-in’ shifts. This long-running saga commenced in 2017 when in this and a number of conjoined cases the EAT decided that such time could, in certain circumstances, be considered to be ‘time work’ for the purposes of the NMW Regulations, such that the whole of the shift, and not just any time

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31st March 2021

9 to 5 love

The subject of personal relationships at work can be a tricky area to navigate, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement. But are restrictions on such relationships permissible, and is it reasonable for a company to implement a Personal Relationships policy? Here we take a brief look at the issues for employers to consider. Love in the workplace – what can go wrong? Personal relationships in the workplace can give rise to a number of potential issues, including: perceived

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11th February 2021

Remote working: From exception to rule?

Currently, people are permitted to go to work only if they “cannot reasonably work from home”. The government guidance is that only public sector employees in essential services and those working in construction, manufacturing and critical national infrastructure should be going into the physical workplace…and even in those cases, it is only if they cannot work from home. Employers who fail to make reasonable efforts to accommodate homeworking are at risk of enforcement action and penalties by the Health and

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28th January 2021

Changes to ACAS Early Conciliation

Did you know that ACAS Early Conciliation has now changed to allow a standard six-week early conciliation process in all cases? Previously there was a default period of one month with the possibility to extend for a further two weeks. Of course, where either side confirms they do not wish to conciliate then the process can be ended at any time during this window. However, this should be a welcome step as it removes the need for ACAS to undertake

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22nd December 2020

merry christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas….

With the end of 2020 fast approaching, it’s fair to say this has been a challenging year for all. We’re proud to have helped so many of our clients through the last 9 months with the ever-changing legislation and new government guidelines. To continue our support to our wider community, and give back to those who need it most, we have decided to donate to the below worthy causes as an alternative to the gifts we would normally send to our clients

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21st December 2020

The trials and tribulations of surviving redundancy

Employers have a duty to make reasonable attempts to find alternative employment for anyone facing redundancy, and employees on maternity leave have an additional right to be offered any suitable alternative role that exists. In both cases, the law provides for a trial period of 4 weeks during which both parties can decide if the alternative role is suitable. If at the end of this period (which can be extended if both parties agree in writing) either party feels that

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9th December 2020

Maternity Matters

Is it automatically unfair to make an employee on maternity leave redundant? Not necessarily, but it is trickier… Employees returning from ordinary maternity leave (the first 6 months) have the right to return to their original job unless that job is no longer available. Employees on additional maternity leave (the second 6 months) have the right to return to the same job unless it’s not reasonably practicable for them to do so. In which case, they must be offered a

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7th December 2020

bumping redundancy

To bump or not to bump?

The legal definition of a redundancy is ‘the dismissal of workers as a result of the closure of a business or workplace, and/or the reduced requirement to undertake work of a particular kind’. According to the law, the dismissal of an employee whose job is still required, but is given to an employee whose job is no longer required, still falls within the redundancy category. In such circumstances, it does not matter that the type of work for which there

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3rd December 2020

The art of picking and choosing….

In our previous feature, we mentioned the need for employers to adopt a fair selection process when effecting redundancies, i.e. via the use of a robust selection matrix, consisting of several criteria which are consistently applied to each employee in the pool. Any measure which puts those with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage (e.g. sex, age, disability) can lead to an unlawful discrimination claim if not adjusted to remove such impact. A common example is the use of

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26th November 2020

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