Today is World Mental Health Day and across social media today we have seen a variety of messages including from celebrities that “It’s ok not to be ok.” Talking about mental health on any day and not just World Mental Health Day is good because it raises awareness and helps to remove the long held […]
Sarah King Employment Solicitor
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News – HR practice
Reference requests and regulatory references
So I know it is rare to have a hand written reference but it is common place for employers to be asked to provide a reference for that departing employee. Firstly, there is no obligation to supply a reference unless of course you have agreed to do so as part of a contractual exit package […]
Stress at work
Stress at work kept 51% of workers surveyed in a recent BUPA survey awake at night while 42% of those surveyed said stress at work had ruined their life. More than 53 % reported that a poor work-life balance made them feel unwell and 64% of respondents said that they would be more productive at […]
Time to disconnect?
We all know that switching off smartphones and tablets is good for our mental and physical well-being but most seem to find it hard to disconnect. The trend towards remote working and agile working may mean that increasing number of workers are logging in during personal time. So is it time to disconnect? A US […]
Make hot-desking work
Mobile technology allows some employees to complete tasks anywhere and with the increase in flexible working, some employers are downsizing office space and introducing hot-desking to save on costs. However, sometimes the space that people carve out in the office is territory that they wish to defend and people can get moody if their favourite […]
Employing illegal workers and directorships
Employers are responsible for ensuring that they are nor employing workers who do not have the right to work in the UK. The employer is required to undertake (and show compliance) checks on workers to establish their entitlement to work before they commence employment. The consequences can be grave for employers who fail to comply. […]
New statutory payments
The Government has announced the following increases to statutory benefit payments with effect from April 2017: SSP (statutory sick pay) will increase to £89.35 (currently £88.45). SMP (statutory maternity pay) and maternity allowance, SPP (statutory paternity pay), ShPP (statutory shared parental pay) and SAP (statutory adoption pay) will increase to £140.98 (currently £139.58). I will post another reminder […]
To strike or not strike?
In what feels like the winter of discontent commuters across London remain impacted today by the tube strikes. This is of course not the first time over recent months that the London Underground has faced disruption due to strikes. There has also been trouble with rail with Southern Rail and also air travel with BA […]
Privacy at work
There has been much media interest in a recent case from the European Court of Human Rights concerning the right to privacy at work. It is not the case that employer’s have the right to snoop on employee’s personal emails as some coverage seemed to suggest. Clearly if an employee is using his work email […]
Guide to conducting workplace investigations
ACAS have issued a new guide to conducting workplace investigations. Employers and managers may find the guide useful as a starting point should a conduct issue arise in the workplace. Employers need to carry out a reasonable investigation into the allegations in line with the principles of BHS v Burchell. The ACAS Code of Practice COP1 […]
(Our news section brings you the latest news on published judgments and cases which are all in the public domain. We only comment on these published cases and not cases of our actual clients. Publication of the case or comments is a public service designed to make the courts and tribunals more accessible and ensures justice is seen to be done. This is why court and tribunal judgments are published publicly.)