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Pregnant woman standing at her office desk, holding her belly.

‘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
Illustration of a woman being erased by a large hand with an eraser, while a man in business attire stands beside her.

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
Stressed businessman in a blue shirt sitting at a desk, deep in thought, with a document in front of him.

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
Uncomfortable woman at a bar rejecting a man's advances while holding a cocktail, with a concerned expression.

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
Person in a blue jacket using a smartphone at a cafe table with a cup of coffee and a notebook.

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
Workers in protective clothing inspecting and stacking red plastic trays in a factory setting.

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
Dice blocks spelling out '4 Day Week' with the number 4 slightly tiled.

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
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