While attitudes towards gender equality have changed in recent times, even moreso since the #MeToo movement, sexual harassment in the workplace, while unlawful, still occurs with alarming regularity. What is Sexual Harassment? The Equality Act 2010 defines sexual harassment in the workplace as any behaviour, of a sexual nature, that is unwanted, offensive, intimidating
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As we approach the end of a year that was less of an escape from Covid-19 than we’d all hoped, having learned the multitude of ways that lockdowns affect different people, we have a greater awareness of the importance of accessibility and inclusivity when it comes to the workplace. Disabled people, whether in work or
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As employers, we have written rules, regulations and expectations for our employees’ conduct when in the workplace, which an employee agrees to when signing their Contract of Employment (in conjunction with the Company Handbook, where applicable). Conduct that does not meet these standards can result in disciplinary action and can even be grounds for dismissal.
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In April and May, we wrote about the practicalities and legalities of moving to a hybrid model of working – the practice of working from home for part of the week, and from the workplace for the rest of the week – and how it was being regarded, by many, as a far more practical
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With the end of the furlough scheme approaching (on 30th September 2021) many organisations may find themselves in a position where their existing employment terms and conditions are no longer viable. A decades-old practice, receiving much publicity recently, is ‘Dismissal and Re-engagement’, more commonly known as ‘Fire and Rehire’; so much so that the Department
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The global, government-initiated responses to Covid-19 have meant that many organisations have had to close their offices indefinitely, with many employees moving to homeworking. This massive change brought to the forefront the need to adjust processes, to embrace digital communications, and, through a situation rarely dealt with prior to the pandemic – the need to
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On 28 November 2020, changes to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) filtering rules came into effect, to remove the ‘multiple convictions rule’ and prevent the disclosure of youth cautions. Filtering rules exclude certain information about minor criminal offences from DBS certificates. These are termed ‘protected cautions’ or ‘protected convictions’. Under the previous filtering functions,
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A Subject Access Request, known as an S.A.R., is a request made by an employee to their employer for information held about them. Although there could be a number of motives for these requests, they are typically made as part of an intended grievance. As an unexpected side effect of living and working in a
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It’s almost time for one of the most anticipated General Elections in the UK’s history. As an Employer, you may be wondering about the implications of a possible change of Government, or changes within an existing Government. All of the parties’ manifestos make significant pledges and propose extensive changes for current Employment Laws and Regulations,
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Do you have Employees who care for children as well as aging relatives? You may even shoulder this responsibility yourself. If so, you and those Employees are members of the ‘Sandwich Generation’. With couples starting their families later, adult children living at home for longer, and increases in life expectancies, the ‘Sandwich Generation’ term applies
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