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Navigating the changes in sexual harassment legislation

The HR team at ITV may currently be pondering the complexities of employment law as it applies to the thorny issue of sexual harassment following the recent allegations surrounding Gino D’Acampo. Unfortunately, these issues have only got more complex for HR professionals following amendments to the Equality Act introduced on 26 October last year. The Worker Protection Act 2023 places a legal obligation on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. If they don’t, they

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10th March 2025

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Is sickness absence crippling your business?

During the last quarter of 2023, there was a peak of just over 2.84 million people in the UK not working due to long-term sickness absence, a considerable rise from just over two million in 2019. Sickness absence rates are continuing to grow year on year with stress, depression or anxiety and musculoskeletal disorders accounting for the majority of days lost due to work-related ill health. If not managed correctly, sickness absence can result in financial costs to the employer

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3rd March 2025

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Settle or defend an Employment Tribunal claim?

No employer wants to be on the end of an Employment Tribunal claim but with the abolition of fees back in 2017 which has led to spiralling claim levels, the harsh reality is that your business is now significantly more likely to have to deal with one. Having to make the choice between settling a potential claim or fighting it out can be a difficult call in which there is only one path left if the employer and employee cannot agree.

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17th February 2025

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‘Mad for having more kids’ comment is not discrimination, tribunal rules

An employment tribunal has heard how a senior NHS manager joked with a pregnant colleague that she was ‘mad for having more kids’. Samina Ashraf brought a case against NHS England on the grounds of sex, racial and religious harassment following a comment made by manager David Marston during her maternity leave speech. The comment was one of several complaints raised by Ms Ashraf about the treatment she received by Mr Marston. It was alleged that he excluded her from training

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5th February 2025

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Redundancies: Harsh but must be fair!

In addition to the increase in the National Minimum Wage (NMW) as part of the government’s plan to ‘Make Work Pay’, the Autumn 2024 budget introduced several measures that will have a negative impact on business costs, including increased employer National Insurance contributions. These changes may pose significant challenges for many employers who might find themselves planning redundancies to mitigate rising costs associated with employing staff. Any redundancy can give rise to a successful unfair dismissal claim if not managed correctly.

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28th January 2025

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Key steps in a successful disciplinary investigation

Managing disciplinary issues in the workplace is something few managers relish. However, employers could be exposed to successful unfair dismissal claims if they don’t follow a fair procedure. Here we look at the key steps employers must follow. Prepare Review and adhere to your organisation’s disciplinary procedure and ensure it complies with the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Assign responsibility for the investigation to someone who ideally has had no prior involvement in the matter. Where

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20th January 2025

Stressed businessman resting his head on his arms over a laptop, surrounded by financial documents, a calculator and office supplies.

Employers guide to calculating holiday leave and pay

To combat post-Christmas blues, most of us look to our next holiday – what are staff entitled to? Calculating holiday leave and pay is a complex area for employers so this quick guide is a good place to start. It is based on the rules applicable to statutory holiday entitlement. If an employer provides additional contractual holiday entitlement, they may be able to apply different rules to the enhanced element of leave, although it may in practice be easier to

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14th January 2025

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Female employee who alleged sexual harassment at the office Christmas party settles for £36k

The claimant worked for The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and complained of “unwanted and inappropriate physical contact” from a colleague during the staff Christmas party in December 2022. The same colleague was also alleged to have made inappropriate comments of a racial and political nature. During the investigation, the employee also informed her employer of a previous incident of inappropriate touching from the same colleague at a non-work event, and said that she had been reluctant to make a

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19th December 2024

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NatWest ban WhatsApp on company devices

In an attempt to address issues with internal communications, NatWest has recently banned employees from using WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Skype on company devices, following incidents where WhatsApp messages had been irretrievable due to disappearing message settings. Whilst instant messaging has proved to be an invaluable means of communicating with staff who are working from home, the use of ‘off-channel’ platforms like WhatsApp can pose significant risks, including: Difficulty retrieving historical messages for investigation purposes, some may have been set

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10th December 2024

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Modern Day Slavery and the role of HR

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 consolidated UK law to combat modern slavery and human trafficking, requiring businesses to identify, prevent, and mitigate modern slavery in their operations, including supply chains. Under Section 54 of the Act, commercial organisations with an annual turnover of more than £36m must prepare a statement every financial year and include what due diligence processes have been implemented to tackle this issue. Unfortunately, modern day slavery is not a thing of the past. It’s happening now, all

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14th November 2024

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What Labour’s 4-day working week proposal means for employers

Workers’ rights could be strengthened with a 4-day working week proposal as part of government plans to increase flexible working. This could come in the form of ‘compressed hours’ whereby employees work the same number of weekly hours over 4 days rather than 5. Labour’s ‘Make Work Pay’ plan is designed to increase productivity and create the right conditions for businesses to support sustained economic growth. Labour’s education minister said that ‘compressing work hours and offering flexible working is actually

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7th November 2024

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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

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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

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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

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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