In the wake of recent events, there is increased momentum in addressing racial inequalities at work. Whilst this is extremely important, businesses must not forget to
to take account of employment law and although positive discrimination is prohibited, positive action is lawful and there are plenty employers can do to tackle inequality of all kinds and particularly racial equality.
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A DSAR is a right that individuals have under the Data Protection Act 2018 to request a copy of the data that an organisation holds about them. The individual can request to see a copy of such data, as well as ask:
Following changes in government guidance, more and more employers are asking staff to come back to the workplace. But what are your obligations as an employer if staff are reluctant or unwilling to return? How should you treat employees who are shielding, pregnant or struggling with childcare?The HSE’s guidance on Working safely during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak and the Government’s sector-specific guides on working safely during coronavirus (Covid-19) are crucial sources of information.
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As the world starts to right itself and the economy starts to meet again, many businesses are in the difficult place of looking at restructures and redundancies.
While many businesses are likely to consider the mental health and well-being of their staff in these, dare I say it, unprecedented times such focus may not particularly be to the physical well-being of staff particularly those who experience other disabilities or long-term conditions.
In this guest blog, I have partnered up with Kate Dean from Enable Disability & Inclusion Consultants to provide you with our three top tips to avoiding a disability discrimination claim.
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1. Settlement agreements are legally binding.
They came into effect in 2013 and are contracts that are used to end an employment relationship between the employer and employee.
The agreement must be in writing and it is a completely voluntary procedure. Employees must be given a reasonable amount of time to consider the offer and the ACAS Code of Practice suggests providing employees with a minimum of 10 calendar days to consider the proposed formal written terms of a settlement agreement and to receive independent advice, unless the parties agree otherwise.
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Although lockdown is easing, government guidance advises people to continue to work from home if possible. Meanwhile the media is reporting that some employers are deciding to keep staff working from home.
Homeworking has advantages; it eases the immediate difficulties of making workplaces Covid-secure and, longer term, it can significantly reduce the overheads for a business. Employers bringing staff back to the workplace may wish to take stock of recent homeworking arrangements in preparation for any second spike in coronavirus or a localised lockdown.
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One of the most interesting things about employee engagement is that, when things are going well, you can easily not notice it. When an organisation is struggling, that’s when it really comes alive. When you need your employees to step up and work together, your culture can really flourish. According to new research, just over half of employees strongly agree that they are well prepared to do their job considering the impact COVID-19 is having. Employees around the world seem to be adapting quite well to the ‘new normal’.
Furlough is the latest hot topic of the moment, as businesses around the world are beginning to feel the squeeze the COVID-19 pandemic has placed on the global economy.
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An employee with two years’ service can bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Where an employee with a protected characteristic argues that their redundancy was discriminatory, they can bring a claim regardless of their length of employment.
Even if the need to make redundancies is obvious, employers still need to follow a fair procedure carefully. This will nearly always involve the following 5 key elements:
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As many of you know, SCE Solicitors have chosen Leeds Mind to support and raise money for. Leeds Mind aims to help people build on their strengths, overcome obstacles, and become more in control of their lives. This Sunday 28th June the team were set to take part in Total Warrior, sponsored by Leeds Mind.
https://www.totalwarrior.co.uk/
Although Total Warrior may be cancelled, we can still come together to raise money for such a great cause. That is why we have decided to create some new challenges for ourselves throughout the month of July.
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The Government’s coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) has helped many employers keep their staff. But, the winding down of the CJRS and the grim economic forecast mean that employers may need a more flexible workforce and for many sectors, redundancies seem inevitable.
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