Archive for the: Employment category

The recent case of Capita Customer Management v Ali has highlighted that, despite recent encouragement for new fathers to consider taking shared parental leave following the birth of their child, they still do not have equal rights with mothers to provide care to their new born under Occupational Maternity Pay schemes..

Background

Mr Ali’s wife ended her maternity leave two weeks following the birth of their child, and made the decision to transfer the balance of her maternity leave to him under the statutory shared parental leave scheme. Her decision stemmed from a diagnosis of post-natal depression, and a recommendation from medical...

UK Visas and Immigration have published a quarterly report outlining the total number of fines for illegal working given to employers across the United Kingdom.

The report highlights that 826 illegal workers were found across the UK between 1 July and 30 September 2017 – an increase of 24% from the previous quarter.

600 penalties were issued to employers, amounting to fines of over £9.5 million.

It is important for employers to remember that they may be sent to jail for 5 years, or pay an unlimited fine if they are found guilty of employing someone who they knew or had ‘reasonable cause...

Following the government’s “naming and shaming” of employers that have failed to pay their staff the appropriate national minimum wage, it has been revealed that a further 180 employers will now have to pay £1.1 million to workers, and £1.3 million in fines.

The employers include well-known restaurant chains such as TGI Fridays and Wagamamas, although it has been revealed that employers in the hairdressing and hospitality sectors were in fact the biggest offenders, with arrears totalling over £500,000.

The news follows the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy publishing a list of 359...

ACAS has recently published its quarterly statistics for the 9 month period between April 2017 and December 2017.

Between April 2017 and July 2017, ACAS received around 1,600 notifications per week.

However, following the removal of Employment Tribunal fees, this has now risen to approximately 2,200 notifications each week.

According to the figures, early conciliation was successful in 17% of cases. Of those that did not succeed at this stage, 26% progressed to a tribunal, with the remainder falling away.

Of the 26% which did progress to tribunal, 21% settled through a COT3 agreement and 5% were withdrawn by the Claimant. Only 7% were...

With two weeks to go before the deadline to publish Company gender pay gaps, reports have revealed that only a third of employers have disclosed the average difference between what they pay male and female employees.

The government has warned that non compliant companies will face legal action, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission further supporting this, and highlighting that they will be “fully enforcing” the pay gap legislation starting with a robust letter to companies that do not report by the deadline.

If firms continue to fail to publish their figures, they could...

The Supreme Court has decided on the appeal of a former head teacher of a primary school who was dismissed for a failure to disclose her relationship with a convicted child sex offender. This decision highlights the importance of the timing of disclosure of information so that the risks can be properly considered and appropriate action taken.

The facts of the case are summarised as follows:

• Ms Reilly (R) qualified as a teacher in 1987.

• R met Mr Selwood (S) in 1998 and developed a close friendship with him. The pair bought an investment property together and S lived there. R occasionally stayed...

I don’t know if it is the time of year, or whether, as the commentators seem to be suggesting, discrimination towards women has increased in recent times, but on Friday I read an article quoting research from a well known and reputable insurance company suggesting that 14% of small businesses won’t employ women as they are “frightened” of discrimination claims, and today the Equality and Human Rights Commission has published research around pregnancy and maternity that makes stark reading.

Today’s research from the EHRC quotes the following in its press release:

“British employers are ‘living in the dark ages’ and have worrying...

Hundreds of women who work in Tesco supermarkets across the UK could receive back pay totalling £20,000 if a legal challenge demanding equal pay with men who work in the company’s warehouse succeeds.

According to legal representatives instructed in the case, hourly paid female store staff earn less than men employed in the supermarket’s warehouses, even though the value of the work between the two is comparable.

Reports suggest that over 1,000 members of Tesco staff have contacted lawyers, with first steps being taken for at least 100 of them. Initial claims have been submitted...

Steps to avoid a Tribunal… (reducing the risk, we cannot eliminate it!)

With the removal of Tribunal fees, the courts are reporting a three fold increase in Employment Tribunal claims coming through. These are set to increase. So how do employers reduce their risk of a Tribunal claim?

Employ People through effective processes

Have you reviewed your recruitment and selection practices. Do you know what the value set of the company is so that you can match that to the value set of the potential employee? Have you got effective questioning techniques? Do you use a comprehensive selection process or expect to get...