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04 12 2023

Monthly HR blog Newsletter – November 2023 | Consensus HR, Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott General, Newsletter #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #HRNewsletter, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

In our current Monthly recap HR blog Newsletter – November 2023 we have:

Cold weather working: Helping workers stay safe and warm | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Award of Excellence – Finest HR Consultants 2023 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Festive HR Issues | Guidance from Consensus HR, Herts, Beds
Fabulously Festive Horror Stories | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds
Teen wins victimisation case after sexual harassment | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Cold weather working: Helping workers stay safe and warm | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

With the weather forecasts showing that we are due some very cold weather, what are the legal rules? In our current blog we discuss using what the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) suggest.

Employers are being reminded of their responsibilities to keep workers safe as the first spell of cold weather is set to hit the country.

Award of Excellence – Finest HR Consultants 2023 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

The HR consulting industry in the UK is a dynamic and vital sector that plays a pivotal role in the success of businesses across the nation. With the ever-evolving regulatory landscape, the need for expert guidance in managing human resources has never been greater.
HR consultants serve as indispensable partners, helping organisations navigate the complexities of employment law, talent management, and employee engagement. This is where Consensus HR shines, and their unwavering commitment to excellence has earned them the prestigious Award of Excellence for Finest HR Consultants in the UK

Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Our Chartered Institute of Personnel and development (CIPD) through their HR inform service have written this extremely interesting case law update in relation to stress being classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and has some very important information for employers. Full details of the case can be found on the Gov.uk site and the link shown below, and the case law article also shown below with a note for employers.

Read the full decision in Mrs D Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board: 1601375/2022 – Reasons. www.gov.uk

Festive HR Issues | Guidance from Consensus HR, Herts, Beds

Christmas is just around the corner! This means many organisations will be planning their annual Christmas party. Alongside unpacking the tinsel and choosing (or avoiding) a turkey menu, businesses must also prepare for the chance of employee misconduct.

‘Christmas parties may seem like the ideal opportunity for organisations to allow their staff to let their hair down and dance the night away with their colleagues,’ says Matthew Chilcott of Consensus HR. ‘However, alcohol consumption within a relaxed social atmosphere can foster situations that may not occur in the office.

Fabulously Festive Horror Stories | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

The Christmas season is upon us! Here’s some celebratory cheer, with thanks to many Twitter confessions from office Christmas partygoers around the UK. Enjoy these examples of when sensible HR guidance has made way for festive workplace shenanigans …

Teen wins victimisation case after sexual harassment | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Aliyah Tariq, a 16-year-old schoolgirl who represented herself at an employment tribunal, has become one of the youngest people to win a victimisation case in Britain. She was sacked by New York Diner in Manchester after complaining about sexual harassment. Tariq claimed that a chef repeatedly suggested that she perform a sex act on him.

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If you need any HR support with managing your team and getting ready for the Christmas period, give us a call now. Consensus HR – Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

Merry Christmas 2023 to all our readers! The team at Consensus HR hopes you all have a fantastic festive period and a Happy New Year 2024.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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30 11 2023

Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #herrtfordshire, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, employment law, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board.

Read the full decision in Mrs D Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board: 1601375/2022 – Reasons. www.gov.uk

Note for employers – Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Whilst only ET, and therefore not binding authority, this case provides a useful test for determining when a mental health issue could be serious enough to be a “disability”. It also opens up the possibility for stress in itself to be a disability, which before this case it was largely assumed it could not be.

Generally, when an employee is struggling with stress making reasonable adjustments is recommended, disability or not, to help with their recovery and allow them to continue working. However, this case shows some employers may be under a duty to put these adjustments in place where an employee’s stress is an impairment that substantially impacts their ability to perform day to day tasks, where that impact has lasted, or is set to last, for 12 months or more.

SUMMARY

The law does not require a formal mental health diagnosis to have been made for stress to be a disability, as long as the condition meets the definition of a disability under the Equality Act 2010.

LAW

Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment, that has a substantial and long-term effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

J v DLA Piper (EAT) (2010)

There is no requirement for a mental condition to be a clinically recognised illness for it to qualify as a disability. Instead, whether the condition is a disability depends on whether the symptoms have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

HR Inform – 2023-11 – Case Law

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With the ever changing HR law and decisions being made by Employment Tribunals (ET), it can be hard to keep up and if you need any assistance with HR / Employment Law in your business, give us a call now.

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29 11 2023

Award of Excellence – Finest HR Consultants 2023 | Consensus HR – Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #businessaward, #BusinessOwners, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Award of Excellence For Finest HR Consultants 2023

To read about our award, Click Here

Page 46

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We are honoured to have received this award and if there is anything HR, Consensus HR can do for you, do not hesitate to give us a call. Consensus HR – Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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Award of Excellence - Finest HR Consultants 2023 | Consensus HR - Herts

Retail union calls on Low Pay Commission to be ambitious on minimum wage rates | Consensus HR in Herts & Beds

29 11 2023

Proposed rates of SSP and family friendly leave announced | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Payrol #bedfordshirebusinesses, #familyfriendly, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, #payroll, #ssp, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

On 28 November 2023, the Government published its proposals for pay rates for family friendly leave, statutory sick pay, and the lower earnings threshold to be applied from April 2024.

The proposals are:

Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement pay will rise from £172.48 to £184.03 per week.
Statutory sick pay will increase from £109.40 to £116.75 per week.
The lower earnings threshold, at or above which employees must earn in order to receive various statutory payments, will remain unchanged at £123 per week.

These rates are yet to be confirmed and are provided for information only at this stage. Until they are confirmed, they should not be relied upon for financial planning, however it would be highly unusual for the government not to implement the increases as currently proposed.

As a reminder, the following changes to national minimum wage were confirmed last week:

The national living wage age band will be expanded from 23 year olds and over, to 21 year olds and over.
National living wage will rise from £10.42 to £11.44 an hour.
National minimum wage for 18–20-year-olds will increase from £7.49 to £8.60 per hour.
The apprentice rate and rate for those below 18 but over school leaving age will increase from £5.28 to £6.40 an hour.

CIPD – News Article.

Our HR Comment: – Proposed rates of SSP and family friendly leave announced | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Here. is some very valuable financial information for business owners so that they can prepare for the new proposed rates of pay applicable from April 2024 and budget accordingly.

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If you need any HR support with managing your team and adapting to the new proposed salary information outline in this article, click us now. Consensus HR – Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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22 11 2023

UK’s highest court rules Deliveroo riders are not employees |Consensus HR Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General, Recruitment #bedfordshirebusinesses, #employed, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, #selfemployed, #workingstatus, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

The Supreme Court has ruled that people working for Deliveroo cannot be considered employees because they don’t have specified hours, can work for rival companies, and can appoint someone to work in their place. A case brought by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWUGB) argued that Deliveroo riders should have collective bargaining rights, but the Supreme Court ultimately ruled they cannot benefit from union membership as they do not meet the definition of a worker or employee. A Deliveroo spokesperson said: “UK courts repeatedly and at every level have confirmed that Deliveroo riders are self-employed, and this now includes the highest court in the country. This is a positive judgment for Deliveroo riders, who value the flexibility that self-employed work offers.” The IWUGB, which represents thousands of gig economy workers, said it was disappointed by the decision and was considering its options under international law.

Previous blog writing on Employment status:

Employee, Worker or Self-Employed … What’s the Difference

Our HR comments / advice: – UK’s highest court rules Deliveroo riders are not employees |Consensus HR Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “The working status of a person has again been considered in a judgement by the Supreme Court in relation to Union Status. In the case ‘Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (Appellant) v Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) and another (Respondents) Case ID: 2021/0155 where the CAC refused to accept the Unions application to be recognised by Deliveroo for Collective bargaining interfere with the rights of Deliveroo riders to form and join a trade union under Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights. This is another prime example of when the employment status plays a major part in what Employment Law is applicable and refers me to the previous blogs, we have written on the subject that can be found below as Deliveroo drivers are Self Employed:

Previous blog writing on Employment status:

Employee, Worker or Self-Employed … What’s the Difference

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If you run a business and have a team and are currently worried about the status of your team members and which to have a non-obligatory conversation about them and how we can help you to ensure you are working to best practice and the law, give us a call now. Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain our of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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21 11 2023

AI ‘hit squad’ to cut size of UK civil service | Consensus HR Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General #AI, #bedfordshirebusinesses, #consensus hr, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden plans to establish an artificial intelligence “hit squad” unit with a remit to shrink the size of the UK civil service and bolster public sector productivity, including the speeding up of government processing of asylum, immigration and welfare claims. The Cabinet Office, which coordinates government departments, proposes to employ between 20 and 30 experts in a so-called “incubator for AI,” at an initial cost of about £5m. “Welfare and tackling welfare fraud, looking at what we can do around the interface with the health service, and looking at what we could do around asylum and immigration processing are three obvious areas where we’ve tasked them initially,” Dowden said. “What I see with this is a transformative tool to be able to enhance the pace of technology in a way that can help us deliver better outcomes with fewer inputs, and ultimately, that should be able to save taxpayers money,” he said.

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Politico

Our HR Comment: – AI ‘hit squad’ to cut size of UK civil service | Consensus HR Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Artificial Intelligence – AI seems to be in all the news lately and how a cross sector of businesses are beginning to use it and we have written numerous times in our blogs about the subject. I believe AI has a place but at Consensus HR none of our work is currently provided using AI and I do not see this changing for a very long time. At Consensus HR we pride ourselves in offering a personal corporate HR service covering all areas of the employee lifecycle from recruitment, employee relations, training and development to rewards and benefits with our USP (Unique selling point) being employment law and business knowledge front and back of house.”

We would love to know your views and please comment using the function available.

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If you would like the HR, Employment Law support of an outsourced HR company that has experience front and back of house in high footfall, high revenue businesses across a range of sectors, give us a call now. Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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20 11 2023

Company fined £500,000 after forklift truck death

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Health & Safety #bedfordshirebusinesses, #forklift truck, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

This is an extremely upsetting story in relation to a young father who lost his life due to not following the correct Health & Safety when using a Forklift Truck which resulted in the loss of his life. Health & Safety is there for a reason and is not optional and must be followed at all times or the company / employee will face the consequences. The Health & Safety Executive have written a great article below and have some very useful information, available within this article.

The mother of a man who was killed when the forklift truck he was driving overturned says she still feels angry as he ‘simply went to work and didn’t come home.’

Jamie Anderson was killed on 4 June 2019, when the forklift truck he was operating overturned at a depot in Newark.

The 35-year-old father of one, was found in the car park trapped under the roll cage of the vehicle. He had been using a counterbalance forklift truck to move waste material when it clipped a kerbstone at the edge of the roadway and overturned. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

His mum Sarah Anderson, a care assistant from Newark, said: “No mother should lose a child and for Jamie’s son Harley he has lost a loving father.

“As a family we have gone through all emotions, and I still feel angry as Jamie simply went to work and didn’t come home. This should not have happened.

“He was a happy-go-lucky boy and would do anything for anyone. It’s the everyday things that remind me of him and I miss his smile and blue eyes. He’s missed so much.”

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that The Barcode Warehouse Ltd failed to enforce the use of seatbelts by forklift truck operators. They should have properly risk assessed the use of forklift trucks on their premises and enforced the use of seatbelts. Instead, it was left to individuals to choose whether to wear a seatbelt or not.

HSE has guidance available on managing forklift trucks.

At Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 8 November the Barcode Warehouse Ltd of Telford Drive, Newark pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. They were fined £500,000 and agreed to pay costs of £7,039.55.

Speaking after the hearing HSE inspector, Tim Nicholson said: “This tragic incident led to the avoidable death of a young man. Jamie’s death could easily have been prevented if his employer had acted to identify and manage the risks involved and enforced the use of seatbelts by forklift truck operators.”

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We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2024 but should you need any HR help, do not hesitate to contact us.

20 11 2023

Festive HR Issues | Guidance from Consensus HR, Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Employment Law, General, Health & Safety #bedfordshirebusinesses, #christmas, #consensushr, #festiveissues, #hertfordshirebusinesses, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Christmas is just around the corner! This means many organisations will be planning their annual Christmas party. Alongside unpacking the tinsel and choosing (or avoiding) a turkey menu, businesses must also prepare for the chance of employee misconduct.

‘Employers should note that events are more than social gatherings. While they are intended to be informal and fun occasions they are also official, company-organised events. Therefore, the party is an extension of the working environment.’

Legally, employers have a duty to protect their employees’ health, safety and welfare. Organisations can be liable for actions committed by employees in the course of their employment, unless they can demonstrate that ‘reasonable steps’ were taken to prevent these actions. This includes forms of misconduct at company-organised events … such as a Christmas party. Therefore, the organisation may be responsible for its employees’ actions if they behave inappropriately. Some examples of what might constitute gross misconduct at a work Christmas party include physical violence, bullying, obscene behaviour and harassment.

Organisations can also be liable for misconduct that takes place within after-party drinks. Although the company may not officially organise these, liability can still arise if it can be established that an employee’s conduct was sufficiently connected to their work position.

In the Court of Appeal case of Bellman v Northampton Recruitment, an employer was held vicariously liable when the managing director seriously assaulted an employee at a gathering after the Christmas party. Even though the impromptu drinks were not part of the company event, this ruling was decided upon. The Court of Appeal found that the manager acted within his management capacity.

Whilst organisations want staff to have fun at a party, provisions should be in place to ensure behaviour doesn’t get out of hand. To this end, it is highly advisable to implement a policy which addresses office parties and other work-related social events. This should outline that staff have a duty to behave responsibly at all times. In addition, individuals should be reminded that the organisation’s rules on acceptable behaviour apply at the event and that incidents of misconduct will be treated seriously.

If inappropriate action is reported, swift action should be taken to deal with it in line with company policy.

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To check that your organisation provides adequate duty of care to its employees, have an informal chat with the Consensus HR team. Our expert guidance can help reassure you that you’ve taken steps to ensure everyone can enjoy the festive season safely,

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14 11 2023

Whistleblower reports to HMRC surge by 47% | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #FurloughFraud, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, #pandemic, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, employment law, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Whistleblower reports to HMRC have surged by 47% in the last year, according to research from law firm RPC. The number of reports rose from 106,920 in 2021/22 to 157,270 in 2022/23. Adam Craggs, head of RPC’s tax disputes, financial crime and regulatory team, said a large part of the spike in reports could be linked to fraud involving the government’s pandemic support. Data from the Department for Business and Trade shows that lenders responsible for distributing government-backed loans during the pandemic had flagged almost £1.7bn worth of potential loan fraud at the end of June, up 43% from three months earlier. Craggs notes that the furlough scheme “was a magnet for fraudsters with significant sums lost in the public purse,” adding that the public “is understandably outraged by that, and this sense of outrage may be a driver in this large increase in reports of suspected fraud to HMRC.” RPC partner Michelle Sloane says that while HMRC currently pays whistleblowers on an ad hoc basis, standardising payments could encourage more whistleblowers to come forward, saying: “Paying informants is likely to increase the number of investigations, and will improve the quality of information HMRC receives.”

Daily Mail

Our HR comment / advice – Whistle-blower reports to HMRC surge by 47% | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “The Pandemic and Furlough is still hot in the news and in this article in the Daily Mail rightfully so! This brings back memories of working during the Pandemic and witnessing the many problems it caused for businesses and our clients with their teams and businesses with loss of sales and near closure. The Furlough scheme continually changed throughout, and we were writing updates consistently to ensure our clients were fully updated on the current law and how they could rightfully obtain monies from the Governments Furlough Scheme legally whilst also ensuring this was implemented to HR best practice and the law. We can only imagine the amount of fraud that took place but hope that reasonable investigations will take place so as to ensure any business that did not have the intent to fraud the Government is not penalised.”

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If you run a business and have a team and want to ensure you are always working to HR best practice and the current Law, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat. Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems – 01438 576750.

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13 11 2023

Online pharmacy accused of making it too easy to get sick notes | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds.

Matthew Chilcott General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #HRAdvice, #outsourcedhumanresources, #sickness, absence, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Doctors have accused Pharmacy2U, Britain’s largest online pharmacy, of making it too easy to obtain sick notes. The company recently launched a service that allows customers to be signed off work by recording a 30-second video describing their symptoms. For a fee of £39, customers can upload the video and receive a sick letter on the same day if submitted before 9pm. The Times tested the service and successfully obtained a sick note for four days by feigning symptoms. Critics argue that the service lacks rigour and is open to abuse. Beverley Sunderland, managing director at Crossland Employment Solicitors, said: “I understand people have difficulties getting GP appointments, but they need to be speaking to someone who is asking questions and probing them about what kind of work they might be able to do. We are seeing an awful lot of people signed off sick at the moment and it is causing chaos for businesses.”

The Times

Our HR comment: – Online pharmacy accused of making it too easy to get sick notes | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds.

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “This article in the ‘The Times’ demonstrates what could be a managerial, business owner and HR nightmare in ensuring that sickness in the workplace is managed accordingly. At Consensus HR we know how hard it can be to obtain professional medical information from an employee’s GP or medical professional such as a Hospital Consultant but without this we and our clients cannot support members of the team at work with their health and welfare whilst ensuring the success of the business. Money making schemes such as these do not help either the employee or businesses as their real medical need or not is not addressed correctly and is open to abuse at the cost of the employee and the business they work for. Companies need to ensure that they always have a comprehensive sickness and absence strategy in place that ensures the welfare of all members of the team is managed correctly with return-to-work interviews, gaining consent to write to the employees doctor / GP for advice on how to support the employee and access to Occupational Health for support and advice for the company and employee when needed.”

To read our detailed advice on absence management click here.

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If you manage a team and would like support on writing and implementing a suitable Sickness & Absence Policy / Strategy into your business with any other areas of HR, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat. – 01438 576750 Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain out of managing people whilst preventing people problems.

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08 11 2023

Early years specialist awarded £800k pay-out following unfair treatment | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Law, General, Investigations, Recruitment, Redundancy #bedfordshirebusinesses, #equality, #equalityact2010, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #outsourcedhumanresources, #outsourcing, #unfairdismissal, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, employment law, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

An early year’s specialist, Mrs J Healey, has been awarded an £800,000 pay-out after being unfairly treated and dismissed by Lancashire County Council. Mrs Healey, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, was absent from work for long periods due to treatment. The council’s restructuring of its early years team in 2018 affected her role, leading to Mrs Healey’s belief of unfair treatment and discrimination. The employment tribunal panel ruled that Mrs Healey had been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against, as the council required her to reapply and compete for a role she had already been performing since 2012. The panel found that the interview process amounted to unfavourable treatment due to her disability. Mrs Healey was awarded compensation of £800,713.59, including loss of earnings and pension. The council has not yet commented on the ruling.

BBC News

Our HR comment: Early years specialist awarded £800k pay-out following unfair treatment | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: – “Wow! £800,000. Award for unfavourable treatment due to a disability. This unfortunately is a prime example of when a company, a public Council in this instance does not manage sickness / absence appropriately and in view of the circumstances. At Consensus HR, we always work with our clients to ensure that in all situations, the appropriate investigations take place for all HR scenarios and to identify if there are any mitigating circumstances. This is an interesting case to read and full details can be found by clicking here and reading the outcome of the Employment Tribunal in Manchester. Employers and managers must ensure that they investigate fully in such circumstances or as in this situation and as previously discussed in numerous blogs, this was covered by the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) and unfair dismissal. Claims for discrimination under the EqA can be made from day one of employment and result in uncapped awards.”

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Consensus HR | Does your company wish to not ever be in this situation and work to ensure that all areas of HR are to best practice and the law within the company? If yes, give us a call now for a non-obligatory chat. Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

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07 11 2023

UK to legislate for minimum service levels during rail strikes | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, General #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #rail strikes, #railways, #striking, bedfordshire, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

About 40% of rail services will run during strikes under planned minimum service rules for train operators in Great Britain, the government has said. Ministers are hoping the legislation will come into effect before Christmas. It will also specify minimum service levels for ambulance workers in England and border security staff in England, Wales and Scotland. Under the new law, employers will be able to issue notices to people “who are reasonably required to work to ensure minimum service levels are met,” the government said. It will also make unions “take reasonable steps and ensure their members who are identified with a work notice comply” – with the statutory guidance set out by the Department for Business and Trade following a consultation. The TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “These anti-strike laws won’t work. The crisis in our public services is of the government’s own making. Rather than engaging constructively with unions, they are attacking the right to strike. And they are punishing paramedics and rail staff for daring to stand up for decent pay and better services.”

BBC News

Our HR comment: – UK to legislate for minimum service levels during rail strikes | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew P Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “With Christmas approaching as I write this, is this the answer to deal with strikes? Our current Government believes so. At Consensus HR, one of the main areas of HR that we are continually supporting out clients and their teams with, is employee relations. This is one of the most important areas of any business who are fortunate enough to have a team and managing them for the success of the business and them can sometimes be extremely hard. Business owners and managers need to consult, consult and consult to find an amicable way forward or as in this instance with the railways, the inevitable may happen, Strikes, which are not the answer for the team or the business and its customers.”

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If your business would like to discuss the best way forward for your team and business and how to ensure you are working to best practice and the law, whilst being an employer of choice, give us a call now for a now for a non-obligatory chat – 01438 576750. Consensus HR | Helping companies take the pain out of employing people whilst preventing people problems.

YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.