Discrimination

  Well written policies and procedures which are communicated and applied consistently are the key to ensuring that the risk  of discrimination is reduced as much as possible. Employees (as well as workers and job applicants) could bring claims for discrimination on the basis of Age, Gender, Race, Beliefs, Marital Status, Disability and Sexual Orientation. […]

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Is it a Duck?

The Employment Tribunal has ruled that two drivers are infact ‘workers’ under the definition in the Employment Rights Act 1996 and therefore are afforded protections not available to genuine freelancers. This case will be appealed by Uber, they can’t afford not to because of the implications for their global business model. Uber have also looked […]

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The Employment Legislation Outlook

Below is a summary of planned employment legislation changes. There are a couple of things to note: There was no statutory increase in rates in April of this year, except for Redundancy which increased by £4 per week There may be an alignment of the National Minimum Wage Increases and the National Living Wage increases […]

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Zero Hours Contracts – do they have a role to play in your business?

Since May 2015, employers have not been ‘allowed’ to include exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts of employment. However at the time, there was no penalty against them if they did so or if they disciplined an employee or treated them less favourably for working elsewhere or asking for permission to work elsewhere. Finally, some […]

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Feeling The Heat

With temperatures soaring and no sign of an end to these wonderful hot days of summer, employees and employers are both feeling the strain. For absolute clarification …… there is no legal maximum working temperature and to this point, a group of MPs now want to introduce a maximum working temperature of 30 degrees (lowered […]

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Bribery – Have you protected your business?

I was in a room with 20 different employers this week and asked a simple question…. How many of you have a policy on bribery and have trained your staff in the application of that policy? Despite the Bribery Act 2010 having come into force in July 2011, 90% of the businesses represented did not […]

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Things to consider when employees work from home

There are several reasons why an employee may be working from home, but in this article, we ignore the reasons behind home workers and focus on things an employer must consider to ensure legal compliance and business effectiveness of the arrangements. A home worker must have a workspace which is fit for purpose. Whether the […]

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