September 10, 2018
Organisations should treat any form of harassment seriously – not just because of the legal implications and because it can lead to under-performance, but because people have the right to be treated with dignity and respect at work too. Employers should foster a fair and inclusive working environment that enables everyone to feel they can…
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August 28, 2018
In July 2017, the Government launched a national survey of LGBT people. The survey received more than 108,000 responses, making it the largest national survey of its kind anywhere in the world. Some of the most important findings: 23% of survey respondents employed in the 12 months preceding the survey had experienced a negative or mixed reaction…
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August 15, 2018
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) celebrates its 20-year anniversary in April 2019, but age and the NMW has been an issue in the media for a very different reason. The Odeon cinema chain, Card Factory and ten sports clubs were among more than 200 employers named-and-shamed by the Government for failing to pay the national…
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August 13, 2018
Home Office research published at the end of July reveals that modern slavery costs the UK economy an estimated £4 billion annually. Consequently, the Government has announced an independent review of its 2015 Modern Slavery Act. This is to ensure that what it describes as “world-first legislation” keeps in step with this evolving crime. But surely slavery ended with the Abolition of Slave…
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July 28, 2018
The TUC has published new analysis showing 2.2m employees are losing out on their holiday entitlement each year, with over half receiving no paid holiday at all. 9.2% of female workers and 7.2% of male workers miss out on nearly £3bn in unpaid annual leave by UK businesses according to their analysis, which draws on unpublished data…
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July 20, 2018
According to a new statement from HMRC, 10 per cent of all small businesses in the UK are under investigation – equivalent to more than half a million at any one time. HMRC recently told the Treasury select committee that it is going after small businesses to reclaim £34bn in tax that it was unable…
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July 13, 2018
The Court of Appeal has today reversed a minimum wage decision relating to “sleep-in” sessions by care workers. The case in question, Royal Mencap Society and Claire Tomlinson-Blake, has ramifications for care providers throughout the UK. In a series of Judgements, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (and subsequently HMRC) previously ruled that “sleep-in” sessions amounted to…
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July 12, 2018
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is expected to impose a massive £500,000 fine on Facebook for failing to secure people’s information – and failing to be clear on how people’s data are used by others. This huge fine, one of the biggest ever handed out, is in keeping with a series of recent fines imposed…
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June 20, 2018
Our busy, complex lives are increasingly becoming a series of risk management exercises. Think about it: when we leave home in the morning nearly all of us will make sure we lock up. We then unlock our cars and drive away, carefully avoiding any situations that might result in a collision. Many people give up…
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June 13, 2018
Whether you’re a football fanatic with the three lions flag or, like me, you think the best thing about the world cup is that most fans have left the country for a few weeks, as an employer the world cup is often a time of added worry and strife. To be on top form through…
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June 1, 2018
In the modern age we can sometimes think we have left racism in the past, that we now live in a ‘post racial’ society. Tony Blair apologised for the slave trade in 2007. The US elected a black president in 2008. And just this year (2018) the Prime Minister appointed Sajid Javid to the post…
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May 25, 2018
The General Data Protection Regulation takes effect on 25 May, with new fines of up to £17m or 4 per cent of your global turnover applying for breaches of personal data. A lot has been said about this new regulation in the media, and there have been warnings that many businesses know very little or…
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