How to support transgender employees in the workplace

The legal protection of transgender individuals starts with the Equality Act 2010. Within this act, gender reassignment is recognised as a protected characteristic. This is reaffirmed in the Statutory Code of Conduct of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This, therefore, means that an employee is protected if they plan to, are experiencing, or have undergone […]

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The Changing Face of HR

HR has been through many changes over the years, but I do believe it is currently experiencing a seismic shift. In part this is due to covid and Brexit, but in part it is also due to changes in Politics, Economics, Society, Technology, Legal and Environmental (PESTLE) factors. I was using the chart above in […]

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Employment law changes for April 2020

Development Overview Implementation Date Increase in holiday reference period from 12 weeks to 52 weeks The reference period used for determining a week’s pay when calculating holiday pay for workers with irregular hours will increase from 12 weeks to 52 weeks. The changes are designed to allow greater flexibility for workers in choosing when to […]

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Ban the phone

Employers and unions are increasingly discussing the right of an employer to ban mobile phones at work. In some organisations, this is already the case, such as large retailers, banks and some medical settings, but it is something which smaller employers still battle with. My mobile number (although not my phone) is still the one […]

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The Implications of Social Media

Whether you like it or not, and however you use it, social media has implications for your business. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and increasingly Instagram and WhatsApp are now central to how we communicate with our colleagues, staff, our clients, customers and how we do our marketing, lead generation and much besides. This means enormous opportunities, […]

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Sexual Harassment

We are currently working on a project to deliver sexual harassment training to a number of charities. We are writing policies and procedures and will be supporting the organisations with the implementation. Harassment is traditionally thought of as sexual harassment, but it doesn’t have to be. Employees can be harassed based on their age, gender, […]

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Can you honestly say that harassment is not a risk to your business?

#MeToo – a year on I just want to touch on something which we’re dealing with more and more at the moment and that’s the issue of harassment. Now about a year ago there was a huge campaign around #MeToo when lots of people came forward and started talking about their experiences of harassment and […]

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Don’t commute and use your phone

I do think that people now are more aware of how they use their phones while driving – it is illegal to do so – but how aware are people of how they use their phones on a public transport commute? I had a lovely chat with Roberto Perrone on the BBC 3 Counties Drive […]

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Family Friendly Policies

A full set of policies around maternity, paternity and adoption leave and pay need to be developed so that employees feel valued and their skills are not lost from the business, but so that they business is able to function effectively with short and long term absences as a result of the prospective and actual […]

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Social Media

Companies need to think about what they will and will not allow their staff to do in terms of social media. Do employees have access to company accounts and if so, what are the rules around the use of that account? If employees comment on ‘a day at the office’ what might the implications be […]

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