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 Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Bullying

Do you remember the school bully? If so, why? To misquote Maya Angelou, “It’s not what they said, but how they made you feel”. You forget the actual words, but you are left with the feelings. This is true whether the words are positive or negative and their impact can be felt for years. Bullying […]

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The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Sexual Harassment

It is naïve to think that sexual harassment does not exist within your workplace. It is naïve to think that you, as the business owner, would know if there is sexual harassment in your business. It is naïve to assume that because you don’t know about it, no one is feeling sexually harassed. It is […]

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The Elephant in the Room: Protected Characteristics – Gender

There are two ways in which I can tackle the Gender Elephant! The first is in the traditional way; by looking up to see if there is still a glass ceiling. The second is by looking at gender in today’s society i.e. the increasing use of pronoun confirmation in email signatures, LinkedIn profiles etc. I’m […]

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The Elephant in the Room

This is the first in a series of blogs to mark our 14th birthday on 1st May 2021. The background to my thinking here is a little odd, but the theme of these blogs is based on ‘The Elephant in the Room’. All the things which employers do not want to talk about or deal […]

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Perception vs Intent

“I didn’t mean it, it was just a bit of fun” These words are so often offered by way of an explanation when someone is interviewed as part of an investigation or disciplinary process. Whether you are dealing with allegations of bullying, harassment or discrimination, it is vital you remember that the intent of the […]

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Don’t let the election rule your workpalce!

I don’t do politics! However, our newsletters are based on what’s going on in the world around us on a weekly basis, and, at the moment, that has to include the politics. However, there is still a very strong HR issue here which all business owners need to be incredibly aware of over the next […]

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Veganuary

We were having one of our regular in-house training sessions on Wednesday and got into a discussion about bullying and harassment in the workplace. Whether as a result of the #metoo campaign or not, we are seeing a significant increase in accusations and employers are having to spend more and more time investigating claims, obtaining […]

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Bullying & Harassment In The Workplace

  Employers are obliged to protect staff from bullying and harassment. Generally, this is in terms of discrimination, but may include anything from their favourite football team, what a person wears, their hobbies or their mannerisms. Employers are obliged to ensure that the work environment is mentally safe for everyone and therefore free from bullying […]

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