Commission Must Be Included in Holiday Pay
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that an employee’s average commission must be included in their holiday pay. The judgement, published Monday (22nd February), set out how the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s ruling will apply in the UK. This is another step in the long-running case of Lock v British Gas, which was […]
True Cost of Presenteeism Revealed
Sickness absence and illness costs a month of productivity per employee, research has revealed. This is at an estimated cost of £57 billion a year to UK businesses. Workplace health initiative Britain’s Healthiest Company (BHC) surveyed more than 32,500 employees for the research. The aim of the study was to examine the true impact of […]
Acas Reports Increase in Workplace Bullying
The employment conciliation service Acas has reported this week that workplace bullying and harassment is on the rise in the UK. Acas reviewed a number of studies and found that reports of workplace bullying have been increasing. The service has also revealed that its own advice helpline received around 20,000 calls related to bullying and […]
Cameron Backs Name Blind Recruitment
David Cameron has backed a scheme for businesses to process job applications on a ‘name blind’ basis. The scheme is aimed at ending discrimination at the first stages of the recruitment process. The Civil Service has committed to name blind recruitment for all roles below senior civil servant level. This will match other graduate recruiters […]
Urban Outfitters Opens Unpaid Overtime Debate
Retailer Urban Outfitters has caused a stir in the US by asking for employees to work unpaid overtime during the weekend. An internal email obtained by a US gossip website told employees that it was looking for volunteers to pick and pack goods for delivery over the weekends this October. The email sells the role as a […]
Caste Discrimination Covered Under Equality Act 2010
A former domestic servant has won £184,000 in unpaid wages following the UK’s first claim for caste discrimination. Ms Tirkey worked as a domestic servant for a Mr and Mrs Chandok, first in India and then again in the UK. Ms Tirkey is of Adivasi origin, which some in India consider to be low caste. […]
Work-Life Balance Key to Reducing Stress
Corporate work-life balance programmes are the most effective method for reducing employee stress, according to new research. A workplace health initiative called Britain’s Healthiest Company has conducted research into the steps that businesses take to manage staff stress. The results indicate that whilst many firms acknowledge the importance of reducing employee stress levels, they could […]
Fit for Work Service Launched
Employers across England and Wales are now able to refer employees on long-term sick leave to a new support service called Fit for Work. According to figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), around 870,000 employees are absent from work for longer than four weeks due to sickness. Fit for Work gives […]
Inquiry Launched into Court Fees
The Commons Select Justice Committee has launched an inquiry into whether or not the introduction of court and tribunal fees has affected the public’s access to justice. The Select Committee is made up of 11 cross-party MPs who will be tasked with assessing the overall impact of court fees. A separate review of Employment Tribunal […]
Record Number of New Business Start-Ups
A record number of new businesses registered in the UK in 2014 – and even more are set to start up this year. There were 581,173 new businesses registered with Companies House last year, up from 526,446 in 2013. That figure is expected to break the record again this year as national enterprise campaign StartUp […]
Windsor Castle Staff Voting on Industrial Action
The Royal Family are facing the prospect of staff at Windsor Castle taking independent industrial action for the first time. Around 120 of the castle’s visitor staff are balloting over whether or not to take action over unpaid additional duties such as giving guided tours, acting as interpreters or providing first aid. The castle […]
Bad Managers Drive Talent Away
A manager with a poor reputation would cause 20% of people to turn down a job offer, according to research released last week. A poll of 2,000 UK employees has revealed the effects a bad manager can have on an organisation, with a fifth of workers stating that they would turn down a job […]
Tribunal Fees Under Criticism
Legal experts and union leaders have called for a review of the Employment Tribunal process following the release of new Ministry of Justice figures. The number of single Employment Tribunal claims has fallen by 70 percent in the year since July 2013, when fees for raising a Tribunal claim were first introduced. “This is the […]
Salary Gender Gap Increases
A recent Office for National Statistics report has indicated a widening salary gender gap for employees in their thirties and older, with female staff continuing to lose out. We take a look at the figures to see who’s winning and who’s losing the battle for fair pay. Recent figures published by the Office for National […]
The Suarez Incident
One of the standout stars of the 2014 World Cup, and the man responsible for the two goals which effectively ended England’s World Cup dream, Louis Suarez was last week banned for 9 football matches for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. The incident has caused a global storm, creating debate in all areas of […]
Top 10 Places to Work 2014
Google, The British Heart Foundation and Oxfam are named amongst the top ten companies to work for in terms of work-life balance, according to job search site indeed.com. In a time or austerity, where financial benefits are no longer the sole factor for those searching for jobs, companies who offer other employee benefits such as […]
Changes to Flexible Working Rules
We recently saw the announcement of new changes to flexible working rules, providing the opportunity for all UK employees to request different working patterns. This could have a dramatic effect on how we design our working lives, as well as affect our work/life balance. Many employers already offer flexible working for all staff as part […]
Zero Hours Contracts Bill 2014
The Zero Hours Contracts Bill will prohibit the use of zero hours employment contracts, particularly those requiring workers to be available for work but where there is no guarantee of work available. The Office of National Statistics estimates at least 200,000 people are employed on zero hours contracts in the UK, of which 75,000 are […]
How to deal with bullying in the workplace
A survey of over 2,000 UK employees found that more than a third (37%) have been victim to bullying in the workplace. While it’s a challenge to find up to date statistics on the state of bullying in the workplace in the UK, there is an interesting 2015 survey that was conducted for solicitors Slater […]
US judge rules that employers banning dreadlocks is not discrimination
A judge in America has ruled that employers are allowed to ban dreadlocks in the workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the EEOC) recently tried to widen the scope of race discrimination to incorporate dreadlocks. But their case was thrown out. The EEOC took on the case of African-American woman Chastity Jones, who saw […]
