Archive for the: Employment category

Many businesses are now using the American military term VUCA to describe the commercial world and the expectations regarding change. Martha Lane Fox told the CIPD conference last year that the pace of change right now is at the slowest it will ever be again. The world is moving quickly.

V – Volatile

U – Uncertain

C – Complex

A – Ambiguous

If I had asked anyone 5 years ago if they expected the international political world to look as it is today, I don’t think many would have predicted it. Why is this of any interest to me as an HR Practitioner?

Firstly, am I...

An Employment Tribunal has awarded a Claimant £11,465.81 following the recent decision which found that the Respondent,  the optician chain ‘Scrivens’, unlawfully asked the Claimant to repay £11,000 in training fees incurred during her employment. The Employment Tribunal upheld claims for pregnancy and maternity discrimination, constructive dismissal, and unlawful deduction from wages.

The background to this case is that in 2010 the Claimant, Ms Walworth, entered into a Training Agreement with her Scrivens to allow her to gain the qualifications required to progress to a more senior role.

The Court of Appeal has held that a school was in breach of the Equality Act 2010 for dismissing a teacher who showed an inappropriate film (Halloween) to students as they believed that the error of judgment was unconnected to his disability. The teacher had cystic fibrosis, which did not affect his abilities as a teacher, but did require a significant exercise regime to help manage the condition. This was very time consuming for the teacher and meant he was less able to adapt to unforeseen increases in workload compared to others without the condition.

The case concerned a claim of...

On 25 May 2018 the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaced the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. The aim is to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the region approach data privacy. From 25 May 2018 those organisations in non-compliance may face heavy fines. 

In order to assist organisations comply with GDPR we have produced a suite of policies along with guidance for employers and a training video which can be used to inform employees of how GDPR impacts them.

The policies, documents and video are available as a package or individually...

Mr Mbubaegbu v Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Facts

The Claimant, of black African origin, was a consultant surgeon at the Respondent hospital. He was dismissed for multiple breaches of the new internal reporting procedures introduced by the hospital.

The Claimant had worked at the hospital for 15 years, and had not been subject to any disciplinary proceedings prior to those which led to his dismissal for gross misconduct on 22 February 2016. None of the 22 allegations in themselves amounted to gross misconduct.

Several employees in the Claimant’s department faced similar disciplinary proceedings, but the Claimant was the only one...

A number of recent high profile cases has resulted in the issue of workplace dress codes being addressed by the Government.

The Government Equalities Office has published new non-statutory guidance for employers, who set dress codes, and employees and job applicants, who may have to abide by them: Dress Codes

The guidance is summarised as follows:

• A workplace dress code is a set of standards that employers develop about what is appropriate for employees to wear to work.

• Dress codes can be a legitimate part of an employer’s terms and conditions of employment.

• Dress policies for men and women...

What is a Shareholders Agreement?

A Shareholders Agreement is an agreement entered into between the Shareholders in a Company.

The Shareholders Agreement regulates how the Company is run, the relationship between the Shareholders and how the shares are to be held and protected.  Its purpose is to protect the Shareholder’s investment in the Company and establish a fair relationship between the Shareholders.

An agreement can provide for many eventualities and will contain specific important practical rules relating to the Company and the relationship between the Shareholders.

Why have a Shareholders Agreement?

When setting up a Company,...

Given the significant increase in litigation since the abolition of Tribunal Fees, we share our Practitioner’s insights on how to avoid or manage Tribunal litigation.  This month, we discuss the importance of a well drafted dismissal letter.

During my very first few weeks in the job, a wise man (Read: Rhodri) told me to “make your letter the only one the Tribunal Judge needs to read”.  As much as it pains me to admit this, he is right.  We see all too often a client who has shied away from giving the warts and all account in a dismissal letter to...

The purpose of an apprenticeship is to enable a person to train on the job and gain a qualification at the end of the apprenticeship.

Apprenticeships are intended to be for skilled roles which require training to reach the standards required, along with providing the apprentice with transferrable skills. The minimum rate of pay for apprentices ranges from £3.70 an hour for anyone in their first year of an apprenticeship to £7.38. The benefit to the employer is that they get people to work for them at a low cost to them and they receive government support for this. In exchange...