From 2016 private and voluntary sector employers who employ over 250 people will be required to make public statistics about the gender pay gap in their workplace based on the average wages of men and women within a workplace. The Sex Discrimination Act, 1975 purported to eradicate pay inequality based on gender. However, even in… Read more »
Zero-hours contracts are on the rise according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics earlier this year. The data revealed that almost 700,000 people were employed on a casual term basis at the end of last year, and unions believe this number is set to hit 1.5 million by the end of 2015…. Read more »
The Home Office is to supply new guidance to the police on the factors that must be considered before a person’s mental health history is disclosed to potential employers. The outlines issued in August cover Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks and employee rights to confidentiality in the job application process. DBS checks, formerly known… Read more »
If employees on sick leave are unable or unwilling to take holiday during that time, they are entitled to take their holiday within 18 months of the leave year ending. This is the case regardless of whether they are contractually permitted to carry over their annual leave if they are on sick leave. Employees do… Read more »
As most people know, the stress caused by working very long hours can have a significant impact on both physical and mental health. To help protect employees from the effects of working long hours, the Working Time Regulations 1998 state that employers must allow 11 hours of uninterrupted rest a day for employees who are… Read more »
Beecham Peacock have achieved settlements for a number of workers who developed repetitive strain injury while working under difficult conditions in a factory dispensary. The workers were employed to mix raw materials together to produce pharmaceuticals in the dispensary at Sanofi in Newcastle. The job involved a lot of heavy lifting, as well as repetitive… Read more »
All employees need to be aware of important changes to their rights, which are due to take effect this month. Perhaps the most significant changes relate to those who are about to become parents. The new scheme for shared parental leave means that working parents of babies born after 5 April 2015 will have choices… Read more »
A recent law has closed a loop hole that allowed employers to discriminate against job applicants with minor convictions. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, any individual who served a single sentence of up to four years without reoffending on release is not required to reveal their criminal record to potential employers. However, many employers… Read more »
Losing your job is a stressful and difficult time whatever the circumstances, which makes it even harder to judge your legal position and whether you have a claim to unfair dismissal. However, this shouldn’t mean you accept a position in which you’ve been mistreated by your employer. We’ve put together some of the core facts… Read more »
A coach driver who was left devastated after the coach she was driving was involved in a fatal collision has been awarded compensation for the injuries she suffered. The Unite member, who was not at fault for the accident, feared she would not be able to drive a coach again following the accident in April… Read more »
Public Health England (PHE), the government agency tasked with protecting and improving the nation’s health and wellbeing, has recently launched two new initiatives to tackle sexual harassment and domestic violence in universities and workplaces. This is in response to growing concern about the prevalence of such incidents and the research findings of several different investigative… Read more »
Now that the festive season is in full swing, many people will be looking forward to letting their hair down at the office Christmas party. However, while a celebration is a great way to boost staff morale by rewarding staff and giving everyone a chance to bond, the office party also has the potential to… Read more »
