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bullying and harassment

How should employers deal with claims of harassment in the workplace?

Claims of harassment, be they current or historical, are everywhere at the moment. Regardless of your view on the legitimacy of some of these, what is undeniable is that employers cannot continue to make allowances for the types of conduct that are being reported without risking significant legal exposure. Whether it’s a male director being too touchy-feely with his female reports or a female manager making risqué comments to male trainees, you could be dealing with valid discrimination complaints if

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14th November 2017
sleep shift worker

HMRC – not ‘sleeping’ on the job

Social Care employers are set for difficult times ahead as the HMRC set out the plans for the Social Care Compliance Scheme (SCCS) to address breaches of the National Minimum Wage requirements when it comes to the remuneration levels of ‘sleep-in’ shifts. Typically, care sector workers have been paid a lump sum allowance when scheduled to undertake a ‘sleep-in’ shift that generally fell below the national minimum wage levels. Historically, as the individual was not performing their duties at the

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3rd November 2017
employment tribunal and EAT stats

Latest employment tribunal and EAT stats published

The latest employment tribunal and EAT statistics have been published by the Ministry of Justice. They detail the type and volume of cases received, disposed of and outstanding for the period April 2016 to March 2017. This information is useful in assessing employment litigation trends and the impact of fees (introduced in July 2013, but outlawed in July 2017) and Acas early conciliation (introduced in May 2014). The stats show that 88,476 employment tribunal claims were accepted in this period.

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28th September 2017
Employment Tribunal fee regime ruling

Unlawful Employment Tribunal fee regime ruling – The implications for employers

  Now that the dust has settled on July’s landmark ruling by the Supreme Court that the current Employment Tribunal fee regime was preventing access to justice, was unlawful and should therefore cease with immediate effect, we look an in-depth look at the implications for employers. Prior to the introduction of fees there is no doubt that employers were frustrated by the time and money they had to throw at an increasing number of frivolous and vexatious Employment Tribunal claims. As

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27th September 2017
employment tribunal revised bands

Revised Vento bands confirmed following consultation

  Last month, we reported that the Presidents of the Employment Tribunals had issued a joint consultation statement seeking views on RPI-linked increases to the bands of awards for injury to feelings in discrimination cases, which had not risen since 2009. The Presidents have since released a Joint Response confirming the following revised bands: Lower band: £800 to £8,400: suitable for one-off and isolated incidents where the nature of the prohibited conduct is less serious Middle band: £8,400 to £25,200:

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14th September 2017
pregnancy related issues at work

Pregnancy-related issues for the Duchess of Cambridge – An employer’s guide

As the Duchess of Cambridge cancels her official duties due to severe morning sickness, we look at what the Palace would need to know if it were deemed to be her employer Risk Assessment As soon as it was notified it would be required to undertake a risk assessment to identify any particular risks to her or to her unborn 5th in line to the throne – perhaps stress on joints caused by constant public walkabouts, swollen ankles exacerbated by

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6th September 2017
tough mudder

When HR and charitable fundraising collide!

  Our Director and Head of HR, Chris Nagel, has signed up to the challenge of completing the 12 mile Tough Mudder obstacle course at Cholmondeley Castle on Sunday, 10 September 2017. Although the wisdom of this is questionable, given the fact that he’s no spring chicken anymore, it’s all for a good cause in raising funds for Cancer Research following the untimely death of both parents of a close friend earlier this year. It would be much appreciated if

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25th August 2017
voluntary overtime

It’s official – voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay

  The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that voluntary overtime payments should be taken into account when calculating holiday pay if they are regular enough to constitute “normal pay”. In the first binding decision on this point, the EAT upheld the Employment Tribunal’s judgment in the case of Brettle and Others v Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, which marked a further development in the evolution of case law surrounding the correct basis for calculating a worker’s entitlement to holiday pay.

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2nd August 2017
vento bands

Tribunal consults on Vento bands

  The Presidents of the Employment Tribunals have issued a joint consultation statement seeking views on RPI-linked increases to the bands of awards for injury to feelings in discrimination cases, which have not risen since 2009. To explain, the lower band is intended to capture less serious cases of discrimination, such as a one-off act of relatively minor harassment or discrimination. The middle band is for cases which are serious, but cannot reasonably be said to fall into the upper

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2nd August 2017
tribunal fees abolished

Employment Tribunal Fees to be Abolished

The Supreme Court has today published its landmark decision in the long-running legal battle between the Government and UNISON regarding the legality of Employment Tribunal fees. The Court has ruled that the current system effectively prevents access to justice, and is unlawful. The Ministry of Justice has said that it will take immediate steps to stop charging. Fees for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal and Employment Appeal Tribunal were introduced in 2013, with claimants having to pay up to £1200

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26th July 2017
ramadam at work

Accommodating Ramadan in the workplace

We are currently in the midst of Ramadan which, for many Muslims, is a period of religious observance. Failing to account for this in the workplace can give rise to employee relations issues and risk exposure to tribunal claims. Here, we look at ways in which employers can support their Muslim employees during this period. Ramadan is the annual four week period during which Muslims fast from dawn until dusk, pray and give to charity. Its observance is a part

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15th June 2017
paternity leave

Full pay awarded during paternity leave

Since the introduction of Shared Parental Leave arrangements, many organisations providing enhanced maternity pay have considered whether similar increased benefits should be provided where fathers/partners access paternity and shared parental leave. In the case of Ali vs Capita Customer Management, Ali succeeded in his claim for full pay during shared parental leave on the basis that the Company provided (under protected terms from his previous employer) 14 weeks full pay as an enhanced maternity package. Ali took 2 weeks paternity

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5th June 2017
health surveillance

An Introduction to Health Surveillance

What is Health Surveillance? Health surveillance is a system of ongoing health checks on those working within an organisation which allows for early detection of ill-health and helps identify any corrective action needed. Health surveillance may be required by law if your workers are exposed to: noise vibration solvents fumes dusts biological agents other substances hazardous to health work with compressed air All the above areas of surveillance are required by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations

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19th May 2017
workers' rights

Is Theresa May’s pledge to protect workers’ rights all it seems?

Certain employment-related elements of the Conservative Party’s manifesto were announced earlier this week. However, the Tory pledge to protect all workers’ rights currently guaranteed by EU law might not be as bold as it appears. Chris Nagel, EML’s Director / Head of HR, comments: “As UK legislation has already enacted a large proportion of EU employment law, it will remain effective until amended. Such changes would require Parliamentary approval which, of course, would take time. Given the rigmarole involved, it

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18th May 2017
facebook post

Dismissal for inappropriate Facebook post found to be fair

Continuing our review of social media and tribunal claims, an Employment Tribunal (in the case of Plant v API Microelectronics Limited) recently considered whether the decision to dismiss fell within the range of reasonable responses. The Claimant had been employed by the Respondent for 17 years and at the time of her dismissal she had a clean disciplinary record. In 2015, the Respondent introduced a social media policy which clearly stated the things that employees should not do when using

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18th May 2017

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