A focus on Gross Misconduct The concept of gross misconduct has often left employers feeling that there is no further option but to terminate the employment of the individual. It has become increasingly clear that even in cases of severe misconduct, outright dismissal may not always be the most appropriate recourse. What is Gross Misconduct? Gross misconduct refers to serious wrongdoing or behaviour by an employee that fundamentally breaches the trust and expectations of their employer. It typically involves actions that are considered severe or egregious, such as theft, fraud, violence, hara ..read more

Religious discrimination In the recent case of Mr S E Toughfar v Search Education Trust, the Employment Tribunal was asked to decide whether a teaching assistant, whose religion was Islam, had been discriminated against because of his faith when he was awarded the “Grinch” trophy during a spoof “Oscar Award” ceremony held by his school.  The Law Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate against an individual in the workplace because of their religion or philosophical belief.    The Equality Act 2010 provides various protections from discrimination related to r ..read more

Various Changes to Employee Rights From the 6 April 2024, the following employment law changes will come into effect: 1. Flexible Working Requests The right for an employee to make a flexible working request from their first day of employment comes into force on 6 April 2024. In addition, the following changes are also due to come into effect from 6 April 2024: An employee no longer needs to set out, within their flexible working request, what effect it will have on the employer, nor set out how any impact can be minimised. An employee will be entitled to make two requests in a 12-month peri ..read more

New rates of pay and compensation from 6th April 2024 I can imagine a lot of business owners are frantically trying to get everything set up for the end of the current financial year and the beginning of the next. If your leave year coincides with the financial year, this probably also includes making sure all staff have been able to take (or carry over where possible) any remaining holiday entitlement in good time without having an impact on current workload.  As usual, the new financial year brings changes and I have set out a summary of the key employment-related changes for you. Nati ..read more

Making a change to require working from the office could have significant ramifications The Covid pandemic changed global working habits with more people now working from home than ever before. According to the Office of National Statistics, between October to December 2019 and January to March 2022, homeworking in the UK more than doubled from 4.7 million to 9.9 million people. Despite the end of UK government guidance to work from home in February 2022, more than 8 in 10 workers who had to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic said they planned to hybrid work both from home and in t ..read more

Termination of actor’s role as gay character because of her belief that homosexuality was a sin was not religious belief discrimination It is not often that we get to report on an employment law case that has even a hint of razzmatazz about it.   However, the case of Omooba v Michael Garrett Associates & Leicester Theatre Trust Ltd – about an actress who was sacked from her starring role in a musical theatre production of The Colour Purple because of her religious views on homosexuality, is about as close as it gets. The law The case concerned the various protections provided to ..read more

Occupational Health and work what do you need to know? There are occasions when every business may need to initiate an occupational health referral and it is important for managers to recognise these occasions when they present themselves. An employer might wish to consider a medical report in respect of an employee or a prospective employee, but here we are specifically focusing on occupational health referrals for current employees.  What is Occupational Health? Occupational Health is a service that provides advice to employees and employers in relation to the employee’s job role and w ..read more

Recent guidance on menopause in the workplace issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) recently issued guidance on menopause in the workplace encouraging employers to carefully consider the recommendations and adapt their policies and procedures to ensure fairness and inclusivity in the workplace. The guidance has been designed to assist employers with understanding their legal obligations in supporting those in their workplace experiencing symptoms relating to the menopause and perimenopause. The guidance highlights that research carri ..read more

Staff handbooks Although it is not a legal requirement to have a Staff Handbook many employers do have a Handbook of some sort or other in order to provide guidance to staff and managers. I have seen handbooks in all formats but typically they tend to encompass a mixture of the following: Employment policies and procedures covering HR processes; Rules and codes of conduct; and Operating procedures. Whilst there is no reason why you cannot include all of these elements into the same Handbook, we recommend keeping them in separate parts. For example: Part 1 – General Rules and Conduct Require ..read more

 Is it fair to dismiss someone for stealing a sandwich? A common disciplinary area that arises is when an employee is accused of alleged theft. Traditionally many have taken the view that theft is theft whether it is stealing a yoghurt worth penny from the canteen or stealing client money from an account. The legal definition of theft can vary somewhat depending on the jurisdiction, but generally, theft refers to the unlawful taking of someone else’s property with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of property which can include, physical objects, money, services, intellectual pro ..read more