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Articles by Ben Stepney
Developments in occupational health provision
In 2022-23 more than 1.8 million workers reported work-related illness, with nearly 50 per cent being attributed to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. Government statistics show that only 28 per cent of employers provide occupational health (OH) services to employees, and large employers are nearly three times more likely to do so than small-medium enterprises (SMEs).
All change for irregular and part-year workers’ holiday pay
In January 2024 the government implemented various amendments to the Working Time Regulations 1998 on holiday entitlement and holiday pay calculations. The changes include the classification and calculation of holiday pay for newly defined ‘irregular workers’ and ‘part-year workers’ which come into effect for holiday years commencing on or after 1 April 2024.
Changes to who can claim indirect discrimination
There has been a flurry of new regulations amending employment law in the last few months: plenty to keep employers on their toes. One change that mostly went under the radar was a potentially wide extension of the pool of claimants who can claim indirect discrimination and the circumstances in which they might do so. This heightened legislative activity was partly down to the change in the impact of EU law on UK law that took place overnight on 31 December 2023.
Clarifying Complaints To The ICO: The Case Of Delo v Information Commissioner
The Court of Appeal has ruled on the extent to which the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is obliged to investigate and reach a decision on complaints made to it by data subjects. The case helps employers to understand the possible outcomes where they are subject to a complaint that they have breached the data protection rights of an individual, and the limitations of the ICO's role.
What Can Employers Expect From New Paternity Leave Regulations?
Parents can expect greater flexibility in deciding the terms and timings of their statutory paternity leave as a result of the legislation applying to children with an expected week of childbirth is after 6 April 2024. Employers should ensure that they are clued up on what the new regulations will mean for them. Currently new fathers and partners can request and take up to two weeks' statutory paternity leave when their child is born.
When Should An Employer Start Workforce Consultation On Redundancies?
Most readers will know that consultation with individual employees must be carried out where the employer proposes to make redundancies. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) recently considered when consultations should be carried out so as to be meaningful. It held that consultation must begin at the formative stage of the redundancy process.
Brexit And Employment Law: Government Announces Proposals To Amend Working Time And TUPE Regulations
On 8 November 2023, the Government published its response to two consultations concerning reforms to employment law. The response proposed new regulations that would impact on various areas of employment law; holiday pay, working time and the TUPE regulations. The new regulations are expected to come into effect as soon as 1 January 2024. Employers will need to get on top of these ahead of the new year. This article summarises the key changes that have been announced.
New Guidance Issued On Monitoring Employees At Work
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has this month published its guidance: ‘Employment practices and data protection' on lawfully monitoring workers. The guidance will assist employers to conduct monitoring lawfully, in compliance with the UK General Data Protection (GDPR). Monitoring can take many forms and most employers conduct some form of monitoring of employees (e.g. CCTV).
Got A Small Business Or Work In One? Here's All Your Questions On Employment Law Answered
Handling employment law issues can be a big distraction when you are trying to run a business. From dealing with disputes and defending employment tribunal claims to providing employment contracts and handbooks, there is a lot to consider. Get it wrong and it can tie up lots of management time as well as being very costly. But, when you get it right, it complements the business and keeps you running smoothly. The fact is that employment law has become much more complicated in recent years.
Do Share Incentives Plans Transfer Under TUPE?
The Employment Tribunal recently held in the case of Ponticelli UK ltd v Gallagher that an employee's right to a Share Incentive Plan (SIP) could transfer under TUPE. This was despite the fact that the employee's contract of employment made no specific reference to the plan. The details of the plan were included in a separate partnership share agreement executed in tripartite between employee, employer and the trustees of the SIP.
What Are The Gender Pay Gap Reporting Obligations For Employers?
Employers with over 250 employees should be reminded of their obligations to publish gender pay gap information on an annual basis, in reference to a 'snapshot date' of either 31 March or 5 April. This will depend on the employer. The gender pay gap is calculated as the difference between average hourly earnings (excluding any overtime) of men and women, as a proportion of men's average hourly earnings (excluding any overtime).
What Changes Is The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 Bringing In?
What changes is the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 bringing in? The new Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 will allow millions of British workers to have more flexibility over their work, including the hours they choose to work and the location in which this is undertaken.
Manifestation Of Religion Or Belief At Work: Guidance For Employers
A case on manifestation of religion and belief in the workplace has recently concluded in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The Claimant in this case, Mrs Higgs, was a school administrator and work experience manager at a secondary school with academy status in Gloucestershire. She was dismissed from the school after some of her social media posts on Facebook relating to relationship education in schools and religion led to complaints from parents.
Factory worker was unfairly dismissed for not removing religious necklace, tribunal rules
A Christian factory worker was unfairly dismissed after he refused to remove his crucifix necklace at work, an employment appeal tribunal (EAT) has found. The Dundee employment tribunal heard that Mr J Kovalkovs refused to take off a necklace as it had a religious importance.
Making your workplace dementia friendly
In January of this year, Joan Hutchinson won her employment tribunal case against Asda. Joan had worked with the retail chain for 20 years and resigned in 2020 after being treated “unfavourably”, following gradual signs of forgetfulness. The tribunal found that Asda’s conduct amounted to age and disability-related harassment, as well as direct age discrimination and discrimination arising from a disability. Dementia is often thought of as something that affects people who have retired.
How to deal with workplace bullying and harassment
There is no legal definition of bullying. However, Acas defines it as unwanted behaviour from a person or group that has the effect of making an employee feel frightened, upset, less respected than others or that they are being made fun of. Examples include rumour spreading, being blocked from attending social or networking events, being talked down to, being given heavier workloads than others etc. Bullying can often become harassment.
What are the implications of compulsory vaccinations
The ‘compulsory vaccinations’ discussion is currently at the forefront of many employers’ minds. Should we adopt this, should we not and if we do, what are the implications? Compulsory vaccines have been mandated in the care home sector. Since 11 November 2021, care homes must only allow workers to enter their premises if they have had their first and second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine (unless medically exempt). This was implemented to protect both care home residents and the staff.
Holiday policies, quarantine and international travel: What do employers need to consider?
Article by: Ben Stepney, employment lawyer - Thomson Snell & Passmore | Published: 19 May 2021 Ben Stepney, employment lawyer - Thomson Snell & Passmore 19 May 2021 We have reached Step 3 in the UK government’s roadmap back to normality. Non-essential foreign travel is allowed once again. This allows people in England and Scotland to go on holidays abroad to ‘green list’ countries. International travel is vital.
Dementia in the workplace – considerations for employers | theHRD
Article by: Ben Stepney, employment lawyer - Thomson Snell & Passmore | Published: 23 November 2020 Ben Stepney, employment lawyer - Thomson Snell & Passmore 23 November 2020 Dementia is often thought of as something which affects people who have retired. But with state pension age rising and default retirement age a thing of the past, people will increasingly experience the first symptoms of dementia while at work.
Don’t forget about discrimination by association
A preliminary employment tribunal (ET) hearing in Scotland has allowed a claim of race discrimination and harassment to continue, although the judge believes it has little reasonable prospect of success. The claimant, Mr Taylor, is a white British male, but he is not claiming that he was discriminated against on this basis. Instead, his discrimination claim is based on his association with a friend of Afro-Caribbean descent.
How to keep your internships on the right side of the law
The use of internships is rising rapidly and becoming a common route into work, particularly for young graduates. In April, the Institute for Public Policy Research published a study suggesting that the number of internships has doubled since 2010. Of these, they estimate that one in five is unpaid.
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