The government has responded to the Women and Equalities Committee’s Menopause and the workplace report. As health is a devolved matter, the response outlines the government’s approach and actions in England only. A new protected characteristic of menopause The government rejected the recommendation to launch a consultation on making menopause a protected characteristic. While the…
Oh no, not another Teams meeting!
You may be concerned that the novelty of meeting remotely has worn off and that your employees are less engaged than when meeting in person. Here are 10 tips to get the most from meeting remotely. 1 Simplify your slides People may easily tune out if your slides contain too much content. Remember, meeting online…
McDonald’s has signed an agreement with the EHRC to protect its staff from sexual harassment
McDonalds has reached a binding agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to eliminate sexual harassment in its restaurants. It has agreed: to communicate a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment to conduct an anonymous survey of workers about workplace safety to enhance policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment and improve responses to…
Unfairly dismissed for liking a Facebook post
In Trench v Performance Bar Limited, a tribunal decided that an employee who was sacked for liking and sharing a Facebook post which criticised her boss was unfairly dismissed. It awarded over £3,000 in compensation. What happened? Drinking on shift Demaris Trench (DT) began working at Trebles (T), a bar in Lincoln, in 2018. Her…
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How to manage probationary periods
To adopt or not to adopt. Some businesses have abandoned probationary periods. They take the view that all of the employees are on probation all of the time. Their managers should be continually assessing and managing their employee’s performance. If you live in the real world where people don’t always do what they should do,…
Disability discrimination: adjusting the redundancy selection process
In Jandu v Marks and Spencer plc, an employment tribunal ordered M&S to pay the claimant over £50,000 for breaching its duty to make reasonable adjustments. It failed to discount any disability-related effects when assessing the employee against the redundancy selection criteria. What happened? Ms Jandu, a clothing and home planner, has dyslexia. Her managers…
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How should you manage the King’s coronation bank holiday?
The Government has announced an additional bank holiday on 8th May 2023, to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. So, there will be three bank holidays this May: 1st, 8th and 29th. So, what should you do? Review your contracts of employment. Employees do not have an automatic right to paid time off on…
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Seven ways to improve diversity and inclusion
Do you have a diversity and inclusion (D&I) strategy? Have you checked that it’s working? Well done if you answered yes to both. You’re doing better than most. Of 2,009 employers who responded to a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey, only 48% have a stand-alone D&I strategy. It gets worse. Of those…
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Merry Christmas HR. Bah! Humbug!
It’s time to eat, drink and be merry as you plan your company’s Christmas party. And have your lawyers on speed dial. Festivities can lead to fallout unless you plan. If your colleagues already consider you to be the ‘fun police’, then you may as well make a good job of it. So, what should…
Is the term ‘human resources’ outdated?
A global survey conducted by Sage found that the term ‘human resources’ is seen as outdated by around three-quarters of HR leaders. Some felt that ‘People and Culture’ more accurately described an HR team’s responsibilities. Responding to the survey, Eszter Lantos, Head of People at TCC Global, said ‘it’s an old-school view to look at…
Annual minimum wage increases
The Government has announced minimum wage increases of between 9.7% and 10.9%. The increases will take effect from 1st April 2023. The National Living Wage, paid to those aged 23 and over, will increase from £9.50 an hour to £10.42. This is the largest increase in the National Living Wage since it was introduced in…
Nearly half of UK workers have experienced accentism
A study by the Sutton Trust, which aims to improve social mobility, found that nearly half of UK workers have been singled out or mocked about their accents in work-related social settings and a quarter have been mocked for their accents at work. 19% of employees were concerned that their accent could affect their ability…
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