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Time spent travelling from home to third-party site by minibus did not have to be paid at National Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage is payable to workers whenever they are carrying out ‘time work’. The question of whether travel time is ‘time work’ for the purposes of National Minimum Wage was considered recently by the Employment Appeal Tribunal in Taylor’s Services...
Looking behind the motive of the decision maker in whistleblowing detriment claims
Whistleblowers in the UK have protection against being subjected to a detriment in employment by reason of having blown the whistle and made a protected disclosure. They have a separate right not to be dismissed for having made a protected disclosure – any such...
Discrimination Arising from a Disability
Disabled employees are protected from being treated unfavourably by their employer for a reason arising from their disability. Unfavourable treatment will amount to discrimination unless it can be objectively justified. For example, if an employee takes sick leave due...
Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023
The Government has confirmed that the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 will now come into force on 1st October 2024 rather than 1st July 2024 as originally proposed. Under the Act, employers are required to pass tips on to workers; employers of businesses...
Tribunal wrong to find employer liable for discrimination but employees who did the acts not liable
The concept of ‘vicarious liability’ means that, usually, employers are responsible for discriminatory actions by their employees if they occur during the course of employment. However, employees can also be personally responsible for discrimination. Claimants can...
Five things employers need to know when considering if an employee might be disabled
Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, which means disabled people are legally protected from discrimination at work. Deciding if someone is disabled involves applying the test from section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. This defines a...
Covert Recording – How Employers Can Take Back Control
With smartphones everywhere, recording business meetings and conversations has become easy and common. If done covertly, this can cause headaches for employers, especially when these recordings end up on social media - leading to reputation, confidentiality, and data...
Wellbeing in the workplace
Supporting wellbeing in the workplace is of increasing importance to employers. One hot topic is how those going through menopause or perimenopause can be best supported. Avanti West Coast’s latest attempt to tackle this may have resulted in a bit of an ‘own goal’....
10 top tips for handling underperforming employees
Employers need their employees to perform effectively and productively in their roles. A functioning workforce is key to business success. What should you do if you have an employee who is underperforming? Here are our top tips: Make sure the employee knows what is...
New Flexible Working rules from 6th April 2024
With effect from 6th April 2024 all employees, regardless of their length of service, will have the right to request flexible working. The Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which were published last December, make it clear that flexible working will, for...
Tribunal was wrong to conclude that a decision to dismiss an employee for posting a racist ‘joke’ on his employer’s intranet fell outside the band of reasonable responses
There are several different elements which make up the claim of unfair dismissal where an employee has been dismissed for misconduct: The employee must be eligible: they must be an employee and must have over 2 year’s continuity of service. The employer must be able...
Disability discrimination: Reasonable adjustments
Where an employer knows (or ought to know) an employee is disabled, the duty to make reasonable adjustments applies. Employers must make reasonable adjustments to remove any substantial disadvantage that the employee would otherwise face at work because of their...
5 things every employer should know about pregnant employees
Employment law recognises that pregnant employees have a unique position in the workplace and need unique protection as a result. Here are 5 things every employer should know about pregnant employees: Risk assessment – Under Regulation 16(2) Management of Health and...