June 2, 2017
Scrolling through social media and coming across photo of a colleague out socialising is fairly common in this digital age. But when that colleague or employee is signed off as unfit for work it can throw up some difficult questions and challenging situations. In this blog we look at how employers can monitor and respond…
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May 7, 2017
When we think about working at height we think of dizzying towers and neck-straining altitudes but, officially, ‘work at height’ means any work that is carried out above or below ground where someone could fall and be injured. Even a height as minimal as the bottom rung of a ladder is deemed to be working…
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May 3, 2017
It’s been a whole year since we brought you the story of Nicola Thorp, the receptionist on a temporary contract whose refusal to change her flat work shoes for high heels caused a furore. In this update, we look at the results of that incident and provide you with the HR guidance on office dress…
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April 21, 2017
A utilities company has been fined £1.8 million following the death of a man in a water filtration tank in a case that should serve as a stark reminder for companies with lone workers on or off site. The father-of two died in December 2013 when he fell into six and a half feet of…
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March 20, 2017
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said a workplace headscarf ban is legal, but what does this mean for UK employers? We’ve covered the case on this blog previously (catch up on the background here), but in brief: Ms. Achbita worked for Belgian-based G4S Secure Solutions who operated a policy not to allow employees…
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March 1, 2017
A former flight attendant for budget airline Easyjet reached a settlement with her previous employer after instigating proceedings in the employment tribunal for unfair dismissal. Here’s the facts of the case: Shannon Gleeson, 22, had worked for Easyjet for three years at the time and was given a bacon baguette by her manager whilst on…
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February 24, 2017
Lifts, lifting equipment and lifting accessories are essential part of modern life. They remove the need to climb numerous flights of stairs in an office and make working in an industrial environment more tolerable. Often, lifting equipment is used to make a job safer but when that equipment fails there are disastrous consequences for users…
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February 14, 2017
This new phraseology doesn’t mean your work environment is filled with poisonous gases. Instead, ‘toxic workplace’ refers to company cultures filled with poisonous remarks or actions – in short, bullying. Although the Equality Act 2010 gives the definition for harassment as “unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect…
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January 27, 2017
The press has recently reported details of a Rotherham-based firm facing a claim for £425,000 from 56 employees for bypassing the rules when they made changes to the terms & conditions of employment. This story comes as a timely reminder to employers that regardless of whether or not union agreements are in place, or indeed…
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November 14, 2016
A recent employment tribunal seeing Network Rail pay out £23,000 has highlighted the potential issues employers could face with a Shared Parental Leave and pay policy. See what Shared Parental Leave means, why it’s important employers ensure their policies are non-discriminatory, and the potential consequences of unequal parental pay. The 10 November 2016 was Equal…
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October 18, 2016
Illegal working is a pressing concern facing the Government, with repeated promises from ministers to tackle the issue. There have been high profile cases where the Government has acted, the most eye-catching recently being the Byron Burger sting that saw dozens of workers arrested and the business criticised for colluding with immigration officials. With recent…
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October 11, 2016
Calculating holiday entitlement for full time employees is relatively straight-forward. But what about when an employee starts or leaves part way through the holiday year, and what about part time employees? That’s when calculating entitlement can get a little more difficult. To help you through this arithmetic exercise we’ve compiled the following guide to hopefully…
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