Where an employer has several concerns about an employee’s conduct, there is the temptation to combine the incidents to justify disciplinary action for ‘gross misconduct’. However the question that employers should ask themselves is whether the sanction of dismissal is fair in the circumstance, particularly where dismissal is without notice or payment in lieu of notice.
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Here you will find all the latest news from the SCE team. In this section we will feature news about what we have been up to, recent mentions in the press, information about the work we do in the community and lots more.
Monthly Archive May 2014
Will UK follow France in allowing employees to donate leave to those employees with a seriously ill child?
Interestingly France’s parliament has recently passed a law which would allow workers to donate their paid leave to colleagues with seriously ill children. The French case of Christophe Germain, a worker in the constituency of far-right MP Paul Salen, was given days off by colleagues to look after his son Mathys during his battle with cancer. This was done with the approval of his bosses and prompted inspiration for the Bill. Mr Germain’s colleagues donated 170 days paid leave whilst his son battled with the disease.
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MayWorking Sleepovers and the National Minimum Wage (NMW)
According to virtually any empirical research you would care to read, we are an ageing population. It follows then that the number of individuals engaged in care-based employment will continue to rise alongside the number of elderly and vulnerable people requiring care.
Owing to the demand placed on the time of such workers, staying overnight to care for their charges is a very common practice. It is important then that the legal mechanics of how those in the care industry are paid for unsociable hours are clear, both to the workers themselves and their employers.
Read MoreFlexible working changes: what’s new?
Some of you may know that from the 30 June, flexible working is being extended to all employees.
The service requirements will continue to apply (26 weeks of continuous employment) however the current statutory procedure will be abolished. Employers will have to continue to deal with requests reasonably and they can continue to reject requests for business reasons.
Initially, this change may lead to an increase in requests, so the question for all employers will be how should they prioritise requests?
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