Latest figures show slight reduction in gender pay gap
May 28th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR The latest figures on the gender pay gap in large businesses show a slight reduction on last year. Legislation introduced in 2017 means that every employer with 250 or more employees has to publish the differences between what they pay their male and female staff in average salaries and bonuses. This is the second year that employers have been required to report…
Director ordered to pay £20,000 after breaching his duties
May 13th 2019By Mark Aspin Director A director has been ordered to pay £20,000 for breaching his legal duties shortly before his company went into liquidation. The director had run a freight-forwarding company from 2011 until its voluntary liquidation in 2015. He had been the sole shareholder. His father had previously been a co-director of the company and continued to work for it. The company operated from the father’s home. The director…
Asda loses appeal over equal pay for women workers
April 4th 2019Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR explains. The Court of Appeal has upheld a tribunal ruling that female workers in Asda stores were employed under terms and conditions that were comparable to men working in the company’s distribution depots. It’s an important decision as it could allow thousands of women working for major retailers and numerous other businesses to bring equal pay claims. Asda has 630 retail stores and…
Joanne Stronach considers recent case; 88-year-old becomes oldest person to win age discrimination claim
March 15th 2019Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR considers the case of E Jolly, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. An 88-year-old woman who was dismissed from her job with the NHS has become the oldest person in the UK to win an age discrimination claim. Eileen Jolly told the Employment Tribunal that she felt “humiliated and degraded” by the way she was treated by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Mrs…
Employers face new legal duty to prevent sexual harassment
January 14th 2019By Joanne Stronach Head of Employment & HR The government is introducing a new Code of Practice that will place a legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The code will contain several measures including protections for volunteers and interns. The government says it wants to introduce the code so employers better understand their legal responsibilities to protect their staff. The new measures will be put…
Woman ‘side-lined’ during maternity leave wins discrimination claim
December 11th 2018Joanne Stronach, Head of Employment Law & HR considers the Employment Tribunal case of Ms J Rajput v Commerzbank AG (2018). A compliance officer with an international bank who was “side-lined” after having a baby has won her claims of maternity and sex discrimination. Jagruti Rajput joined Commerzbank AG in London as a senior compliance advisor in 2012. By 2015 she was being considered as a possible candidate for head of…
Chancellor increases Living and Minimum wage rates
November 8th 2018Scott Garson Practice Manager Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced increases to the minimum wage rates. During his Budget speech, Mr Hammond said the National Living Wage will rise by 4.9%, from £7.83 to £8.21 from next April. This amounts to a £690 annual pay increase for a full-time worker. These are the increases recommended by the Low Pay Commission (LPC) and accepted in full by the government. They will come into…
Woman subjected to sexual advances at work awarded £24,000
October 29th 2018Joanne Stronach, Head of Employment & HR considers a recent sexual harassment case in the Employment Tribunal. An employer who told a woman that sexual advances from a Spanish colleague were just cultural differences has been ordered to pay her £24,000 compensation. The woman, who has not been named, worked for Lincolns Care Ltd, supporting people with mental health and learning disabilities. While she was at work, a colleague, Juan…
Building an engaged and loyal team is one of the best ways to project a business as a fantastic place to work …
September 24th 2018Building an engaged and loyal team is one of the best ways to project a business as a fantastic place to work, a conference heard. And having a plan to actively market a company to potential employees ‘who may not even know they want to work there’ will give bosses a head start in the increasingly tough battle for talent. The two themes were high on the agenda as representatives…
Sleep-in care workers ‘not entitled to minimum wage’
August 24th 2018Joanne Stronach, Head of Employment & HR, considers the recent Court of Appeal cases regarding sleep in workers. The decision by the Court of Appeal in two recent cases – Royal Mencap Society v Tomlinson Blake and Shannon v Jaikishan and Rampersad (trading as Clifton House Residential Home) 2018 EWCA Civ 1641 – will have major implications for residential care homes. The Court of Appeal decided that care workers sleeping…
