£3.2 Million Awarded for Workplace Harassment
A former banker at the London office of a major Russian bank has won significant damages at an Employment Tribunal following ongoing discrimination and harassment in her role. Svetlana Lokhova worked for Sberbank CIB (UK) Ltd until she resigned claiming constructive dismissal in 2012. Ms Lokhova, a Cambridge graduate, joined the bank in 2008. […]
Anti-Avoidance Measures & Zero Hours Contracts
The Government last week published new legislation to protect employees from exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts. These exclusivity clauses prevent employees from taking on secondary jobs to supplement their income. The proposals outline the consequences for any employer found to be enforcing exclusivity clauses, which include the right for the affected employee to seek […]
ECJ Rules on Holiday Pay & Commission Case
The Employment Tribunal in the case of Lock v British Gas ruled that any employee who receives commission should receive varied holiday pay to reflect their normal income. Mr Lock was a salesman for British Gas on a basic salary with variable commission paid in arrears. His commission depended upon sales achieved and could not […]
End of the Road for Jeremy Clarkson and the BBC?
How would you manage an employee like the outspoken Top Gear presenter? UPDATED 25/03/2015 The Daily Telegraph last night reported that Jeremy Clarkson is going to be sacked by the BBC following an internal investigation into an alleged incident earlier this month. If the purported facts of the incident are true then the BBC would […]
Employee Engagement Crucial
A white paper has outlined the need for businesses to focus on both employee engagement and wellbeing in order to ensure continued performance by individuals and the business overall. The Engage for Success report, titled ‘The Evidence: Wellbeing and Employee Engagement’ provides evidence that there is a strong link between employers who actively practice employee […]
Pension Auto-Enrolment: Avoiding the Pitfalls
The Government is aiming to head-off a future savings crisis with a pension auto-enrolment scheme for employees – and HR departments need to be aware of the potential pitfalls that this new legislation could bring. The latest development that employers need to know about when enrolling staff is new regulations banning consultancy charges. The regulations came into force […]
The Great Repeal Bill
At the Conservative party conference last weekend, Brexit minister David Davis announced that The Great Repeal Bill would be introduced that would mean European Union law ceases to apply from the moment the United Kingdom officially leaves the EU. The Government has said that the intention of this new bill, to be known as the […]
Career Limits for Working Mums
Over half of working mums (56%) believe that they would have gotten further in their careers if they did not have children. The research, carried out by Watchshop.com, also found that a third of working mothers (33%) feel guilty if they have to take leave from work due to parental responsibilities. Despite the introduction of […]
UK Employees Most Confident in Europe
Employees in the UK are more confident about how their organisation can compete on the world stage than the rest of the European workforce, according to a recent survey. Over half (58%) of UK workers are confident that their business can compete for work and talent internationally, compared to a European average of just 50%. […]
Work-Related Stress Affecting Happiness
Stress is causing more than a third of employees to feel dissatisfied about their work, according to a new survey by Workwear Express. In a survey of over 1,020 UK employees nearly 40% said that they feel unhappy in their jobs. Over 65% said that they were not happy to some degree, whilst just 14% confirmed that they intend to stay […]
Room to Improve Internal Mobility Programmes
Research finds that businesses can do more to recruit talent from within. A survey by management firm Futurestep polled over 1,000 employees between September and October of this year. 87% of the executive-level employees said that having a strong internal mobility programme would definitely help with talent attraction and retention. Despite this, two-thirds of the respondents reported that […]
Top Qualities of Job Candidates Revealed
A new survey has revealed that motivation is the most important factor for recruiters when they come to considering job candidates. A candidate’s motivation for taking the role is the most important factor according to 33% of respondents. Their skillset followed on 27%, with past experiences considered the third most important factor on 24%. There […]
“Don’t Come Back on Monday” is an Unfair Dismissal
A recent Employment Tribunal has shown how important it is to follow procedure when carrying out a dismissal. Mr Townsend was a driver for Commercial Storage Ltd, a small family business run by Mr Cooke. Mr Cooke called Mr Townsend into work during his annual leave to set up a new truck, which Mr Townsend […]
Pay Gap Grows Between CEOs and Employees
During 2014 CEO pay reached 183 times the earnings of the average UK employee, according to a new study. The High Pay Centre, an independent think tank, carried out research into the salaries of FTSE 100 companies and found that the average CEO pay had increased to £4.964 million; a slight rise on the £4.923 million […]
Employers Still Struggle with Auto-Enrolment
Nearly 8,000 SMEs have not made plans to fulfil their auto-enrolment requirements according to a new report from the Pensions Regulator (TPR). TPR stated that this figure represents 20% of the employers that were due to stage during the period from 1st April to the 30th June. During the same time frame TPR issued 119 […]
How to Manage Staff When It’s Too Hot to Work
With a second heatwave predicted to hit the UK at the end of July, we’re taking a look at what you need to know when it feels like it’s too hot to work… Whilst the scorching heat at the start of the month seems like a distant memory, early reports predict that we will see a […]
Tube Staff to Strike Over Night Shift Work
A 24-hour strike will start tonight (8th July) as unions representing 20,000 employees failed to reach an agreement with London Underground over night shift pay and working conditions. Transport for London has said that additional means of public transport will be available for the duration of the strike. Why are the Tube staff on strike? The Tube staff […]
Ban on Exclusivity Clauses in Zero-Hours Contracts
A ban on exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts is now in effect following the introduction of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The introduction of the legislation means that an estimated 150,000 workers are now legally entitled to take work from more than one employer at a time. However the new legislation offers […]
Higher Standard of HR Skills Required
A new report from the CIPD has concluded that many HR departments are failing to develop the HR skills necessary to operate in a changing workplace. The CIPD’s HR Outlook (Winter 2014-15) reports that as the workplace evolves and HR operating models and capabilities adapt, many HR professionals are not doing enough to keep up. […]
Employees Under the Influence
A quarter of employees have turned up to work still feeling the effects of alcohol from the night before, according to a recent survey. A new survey by ELAS has found that a quarter of UK workers admit to having attended work whilst under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Of the 1,500 people surveyed, […]
