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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
“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 […]
Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment is unwanted conduct which is related to one of the following protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Under the legal definition, this unwanted conduct “has the purpose of effect of either violating an individual’s dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, […]
Outdated rules or needed for the modern workplace? The first question for many is: What is fraternisation? Fraternisation is defined as: To associate or form a friendship with someone, especially when you are not supposed to do so. Fraternisation at work is usually about people having relationships with colleagues, but it could also be about […]
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 […]
#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 […]
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 […]
