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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...
Flexible Working Rules 2023 – what has changed ?
Our commercial property solicitors highlight the traps for commercial landlords in the law relating to guarantors and former tenants
Can your name predict your future job?
And finally, furniture suppliers Furniture at Work have carried out research using LinkedIn data to determine the most common career for people with certain names in the UK. The results make for interesting reading. According to the research, people with the most...
Employee off sick for 15 years claims discrimination for not being given a pay rise
A senior IT worker on sick leave since 2008 tried to sue a tech giant for discrimination because he hadn’t been given a pay rise. Ian Clifford brought tribunal proceedings against IBM alleging that he had been treated unfavourably for something arising from his...
Special considerations when employing young workers
Businesses who employ 16-18 year olds need to be aware that there are certain special considerations that come with employing the youngest members of the job market. These include: That they can only work up to 40 hours a week They are usually entitled to 2 days off...
The perils of banter
Employment tribunal claims based on ‘banter’ are on the rise. It is reported there were 66 claims in 2022. The rise in cases based on ‘banter’ are a reminder that what might be amusing to some can be offensive to others. This leads to a risk of discrimination claims...
Refusing to pay wages leads to constructive dismissal
Employees have a contractual right to receive pay for work done in accordance with their contract of employment. Refusing to pay wages to an employee is usually a fundamental breach of contract by the employer (the notable exception being where the employer has a...
Five things you should know about Statutory Sick Pay
Dealing with sickness absence takes up a lot of management and HR time. It can be difficult to navigate all the different considerations involved. One of those considerations is sick pay. Here are five things you should know about statutory sick pay: Statutory Sick...
An Introduction to Garden Leave
The phrase ‘garden leave’ crops up often when you are talking about employees who are leaving a business, but it is not always clear what is meant by the term. Here is an explanation of the concept: Garden leave describes the situation when an employee who is leaving...
EU Law to remain on the statute books unless specifically revoked
The government has announced in a written statement to parliament that it is abandoning the sunset clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. As the Bill was originally drafted, almost all EU law would automatically be revoked at the end of 2023,...
Employment non-competes look set to shrink
New legislation is expected to be drafted to set a 3 month limit on non-compete clauses which prevent employees from working for a similar business, or setting up a competing business, within a defined geographical radius and for a defined time. So-called gardening leave and poaching look set to stay unrestricted.
Laughing at an employee who fell over not found to be harassment
And finally, the law relating to harassment is a minefield for employers to navigate. The fact that the law focuses on the effect of the conduct, not the nature of the conduct, makes it tricky. However, some comfort is found in the recent Employment tribunal decision...
Ethnicity pay gap recording guidance published
It is already a statutory requirement for employers with at least 250 employees to measure and report gender pay gaps. The government has decided not to introduce a similar legal requirement for employers to publish their ethnicity pay gaps but it has now published...