Whatever the truth behind Blue Monday it's inevitable that the dark nights, poor weather and post-Xmas lull can leave employees feeling blue. Our recent survey conducted in Jan 2017 found two-thirds of employees are currently fed up at work, and 46% likely to look for a new job within the next three months. A third put their low-morale down to stress, but whatever the reason spirits need lifting your people need a boost, so here are our top 10 tips to help you help your…
11% of ALL prison sentences for H&S offences (since guidelines were first introduced in the Health and Safety at Work Act in 1974) have been handed out in the last eight months to October 2016. In a trend we predicted in our Sentencing Guidelines update webinar earlier in the year (hat tip), recent reports show 23 people received prison time or suspended sentences for H&S breaches in the last eight months – compared with 166 in the last 42 years (less than five a year).…
With a disruptive summer of sport ahead, managing employee absence as sports fans seek ways to watch their teams could be a real headache for business. Today is a big day for sport. We've got Andy Murray in the semi finals at Wimbledon (bravo). There's Lewis Hamilton revving up in qualifying for the British Grand Prix (zoom). And Yellow Jersey favourite Chris Froome is riding out with the other Brits in Team Sky on the seventh stage of the Tour de France (clip). Oh, and…
A financial services company has saved around £55,000 in legal costs and potential compensation after Moorepay successfully defended against a damaging discrimination claim. The employee's Employment Tribunal claim alleged sex, religious and pregnancy discrimination. The medium sized company had been in existence for more than 20 years and had never previously received an Employment Tribunal claim. Case background After a month of joining the business, the employee came into work and announced she had converted to another religion. A couple of weeks later she asked…
Moorepay recently defended a large and well respected care trust in the Employment Tribunal against claims of race and disability discrimination presented by one of their ex-employees. The Trust were very keen to defend the claim, not only to protect their well-established and excellent reputation, but also to protect the current and future contractual relationships they hold with various government agencies and local Councils. Case background When she was employed by the Trust, the employee who brought the claim had a period of unauthorised absence…
Employment Tribunals now have the power to order equal pay audits for employers who have lost equal pay claims. Equal pay audits have previously been championed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as good practice. An Equal Pay audit is a comparison of the pay of different groups of staff who perform “equal” work. It is supposed to help employers identify and limit the risks of potentially being found to have committed sex discrimination in relation to pay. If the EPA finds that there…
The case against the introduction of Employment Tribunal Fees is gaining momentum - with UNISON bringing brand new evidence to the table. The Trade Union’s recent appeal case - heard on 18 September - has been put on hold and a new one with much stronger evidence will be presented at the High Court. UNISON reports that in the Court of Appeal, the Lord Chancellor agreed with UNISON that a new hearing should take place as soon as possible, in light of the new evidence. Ministry of Justice (MoJ)…
More than four million workers are part of an Auto Enrolment workplace pension scheme, according to recent figures from The Pensions Regulator (TPR). More than 21,000 employers have now told TPR how they have met their duties in their compliance declaration. The figures also showed that 8.6 million employees were now members of qualifying pension schemes. Over 4.44 million workers were not members of qualifying schemes, but many of these will have workplace pensions with previous employers. The Pensions Regulator’s Executive Director of Auto Enrolment, Charles…
UNISON has failed to overturn the introduction of fees for Claimants in the Employment Tribunal system. The High Court in The Queen on the Application of Unison v Lord Chancellor has turned down UNISON's judicial review application against the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal Fees Order 2013 (the ‘2013 Order’). On the surface this looks great for employers, since it is likely fewer employees will challenge their treatment at work as a result of these fees. That said, there is now a fee remission…
UK businesses lose millions every year through inefficient payroll reporting, incorrect data entry and even timecard fraud. Business owners are constantly looking for solutions that save money without sacrificing their efficiency or productivity. Just five minutes of lost time per employee per day may result in a business losing over £100 per employee per year, even at the minimum wage. But now, employers may never have to worry about their employees’ attendance again, thanks to the launch of an innovative new cloud-based time and attendance…
