WORKPLACE STRESS TOOL
The Health and Safety Executive has launched a new tool aimed at helping employers to prevent (and properly risk assess) work-place stress…
TIME TO GET YOUR CLAWS OUT?
We all know that bonuses can form a key part of an employer’s retention strategy. However, we also know that the period immediately following the payment of bonuses is when we tend to see a spike in resignations. This can be frustrating…
£40 MILLION HOLIDAY PAYOUT
Landmark Supreme Court ruling means that Northern Irish Police officers will receive approximately £40 million for underpaid holiday entitlements.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Chief Constable of the Police…
REASONABLE STEPS FORWARD IN PREVENTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
‘Harassment’ in an employment context is defined in the Equality Act 2010 as ‘unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that…
LYNSKEY LOGIC
The Leeds Employment Tribunal has issued its judgment in the case of Lynskey v Direct Line Insurance Services this month. Whilst this is a first instance decision only and so not binding on other tribunals, we are a little concerned about the potential…
SICKNESS ABSENCE AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL FOR A DECADE
The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) has reported a significant increase in sickness absence, up from an…
POWER TO THE PEOPLE?
In March of this year, we reported on a Bill, the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill 2022-23, which has now received Royal Assent. It will become law, probably in September…
DANIEL RUBIN - PARTNER
We're delighted to welcome Daniel Rubin as a Partner to the Horsfield Menzies Executive Team. A pragmatic employment lawyer with expertise in strategic reputation…
RACHEL YORKE - SENIOR ASSOCIATE
We are excited to announce that Rachel Yorke has joined the Horsfield Menzies as a Senior Associate…
Controversial Strike Bill Becomes Law
We have previously written about the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which received Royal Assent on 20th July 2023 and is now the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. You will recall that this is the legislation which grants…
Time For Change?
There has been a lot of coverage of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill since it received Royal Assent on 20 July 2023, indeed in a press release from the Department for Business and Trade, it was hailed that ‘millions of British workers will have more flexibility…
Those Who Don’t Jump Will Never Fly
There are two striking elements to the Court of Appeal’s decision in the case ofJump Trading International v Couture.
First, the case is an important challenge to the ubiquitous urban myth that a court will never uphold a restrictive covenant which lasts over 12 months…
Long-Term Sickness Absence Rates Hit a New High
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show that a record number of people in the UK (2.55 million) are not working due to long-term sickness. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of…
Workplace Misconduct
The CBI has hit the headlines recently amid serious allegations of rape and sexual misconduct at the organisation.
Tony Danker was the Director General at the organisation from November 2020 and has informed the media that his dismissal has left his reputation in tatters…
Baby Loss in the Workplace
Baby Loss Awareness Week this year runs from Sunday 9th to Saturday 15th October. Last Autumn, as part of our series of lunchtime webinars around Equality in the Workplace we included a webinar on Baby Loss. This is too large a topic to cover fully in a short article…
Avoiding Whistleblower Protection
The case of Kong v Gulf International is a potentially useful case for employers who are considering dismissing a whistleblower.
As you will be aware, a dismissal on the grounds of…
Holiday Pay
Holiday pay has long been a tricky issue for workers who do not work ‘typical’ hours, by which we mean workers who have no set pattern of work; this could include zero hours workers and term time workers.
On 20 July 2022, the Supreme Court issued an important…
Upskilling Our Youth
July 15 2022 is World Youth Skills Day. The theme this year is transforming youth skills for the future, with a particular focus on equipping those groups of young people who, because of socio-economic and other reasons…
Feeling hot, hot, hot?
As the UK basks in the latest heatwave, employees at UK Plc are increasingly asking at what point it becomes so hot that they have a legal right not to attend work….