Fire safety experts have called for immediate action from employers in charge of properties to prevent more loss of life. The fire safety guidance for residential care premises has now been updated by the National Association for Safety and Health in Care Services (NASHiCS) and the Chief Fire Officers Association. Many of the points in the new guide are applicable to all employers in charge of properties. The news comes after a series of fires in residential homes caused serious accidents in the UK. The…
Starbucks recently became the subject of media attention when a female employee suffering with dyslexia has won a claim for disability discrimination. The claim rose arose from her employer’s failure to make reasonable adjustments for her dyslexia. But what can employers learn from this? Having been being wrongly accused of falsifying documents, the employee brought proceedings in the Employment Tribunal. She successfully argued that, although she had made mistakes, the employer discriminated against her by failing to take into account that these errors arose from her…
After Harrison Ford broke his leg on set, the latest stage for a Star Wars follow up will be a high court room, with a Disney subsidiary facing charges for four safety breaches. What can businesses learn from this spaceship slip up? “May the 4th be with you” … or in this case, 8 days after the 4th when a high profile 'Star Wars’ Health & Safety court case will take place. Towards the end of 2015, movie fans from all over the UK were…
With The National Living Wage due to come into force in April 2016 many employers are worrying about how they will cope with the increased wage bill. With an estimated 2.7 million people expected to directly gain as a result, one thing to be mindful of is the fact that many people will feel more motivated to work as a result of the increase in their pay. A more motivated and happy workforce is proven to lead to increased productivity and a decrease in sickness…
Sickness absence costs small businesses around £300, 000 a year. The average employee takes 7 days off work sick per year at an average cost of £550 per employee per day. Whilst absence cannot be eliminated, after all we all get sick once in a while, managing absence in a fair and consistent way can reduce costs and add value to the business. Here are 5 simple steps to help you improve absence within your organisation. 1. Ask the right questions when they call in…
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…
Employees on zero hours contracts could be just as happy as permanent staff, a new survey suggests. The research, from the Charted Institute of Personnel Practice (CIPD), found that on average, zero-hours contract employees experience similar levels of job satisfaction, work-life balance and personal well-being to employee’s on permanent, full-time contracts. In general zero hours contracts have often received bad publicity, but this recent research from the CIPD shows they’re more popular with employees that you might expect. The research suggests that: 65% of zero…
As businesses return to work and look forward to what the New Year will bring, it is also a good time to start the year on the right footing with your Health & Safety Management Programme. So, how do you establish where you are at with your own business and your Health & Safety programme? A simple Health & Safety Audit with Moorepay can give you the support that you need, as a subscribed and valued customer, you may already have the Audits available to…
January 2016 saw a takeaway shop getting fined £2,000, with costs of £2,360, for failure to produce an ELCI (Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance) certificate. Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court heard how local fire protection services notified the HSE that the business did not have ELCI. After numerous letters to the Takeaway business they failed to provide a copy of their insurance. The Company was prosecuted and found guilty of an offence under Section 4(2)(b) of the Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance Act 1969. What is employers’ liability insurance?…
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…
