Employees with less than two years’ service cannot generally claim unfair dismissal, so it is relatively straightforward to dismiss. What consideration do you need to have in mind for dismissing a short- serving employee and how should you go about it. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, you don’t need to prove one of the five potential fair reasons for … Read More

Non-Destructive Testing is used to check for defects in plant, e.g. pressure equipment, that may have been introduced by the manufacturing process or deterioration caused by the operation of the plant. The HSE has issued a safety alert following the discovery of a fraud involving the issue of Personnel Certification in Non-Destructive Testing (PCN) to people carrying out this work. … Read More

Asda has lost a case for unfair dismissal because it made one fatal procedural error. Where did it go wrong and what steps must you never overlook when disciplinary action is taken against an employee? Like most larger employers, Asda almost certainly had the in-house HR expertise. With all this knowledge at its fingertips, you wouldn’t expect Asda to make … Read More

During the school holidays, many working parents struggle with childcare arrangements, especially during the summer months. At what point does an issue relating to child care entitle an employee to exercise their rights to take Dependents’ Leave? Remember, dependents’ leave is available to everyone regardless of their length of service, however, an employee has no right to be paid whilst … Read More

Provisional figures released by the HSE show that 144 workers died as result of work related injuries between April 2017 and March 2018 (a rate of 0.45 per 100,000 workers) an increase from the 135 workers fatally injured the previous year. Despite this increase the figure has remained broadly level over the last five years and is lower than the … Read More

With the current heatwave set to continue and the summer holidays not yet begun temperature in the workplace can be a hot topic. In the UK there is no set maximum temperature for a workplace, however regulations do require that temperature should be reasonable, exactly what is reasonable will depend on the type of workplace. Irrespective of whether the heat … Read More

Stick with me on this because I want to introduce you to Claire.  Claire is going through a tough time, she has a disability and is having difficulty getting benefits.  Now before you panic I’m not expecting you to sponsor me or to see how many likes this post can get, I’m only going to tell you what you need … Read More

How are lemons, lemonade and business continuity planning connected? Our System and Process Director, Stuart Upton shares his views. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, it’s a proverbial phrase to encourage us to think positively in the face of adversity. In other words, if something negative happens (the lemons representing sourness or something difficult) and you do something about … Read More

To ensure that you have a verbatim record of a disciplinary hearing you could record the meeting on an electronic device instead of taking handwritten notes. But, beware you can’t automatically record a disciplinary (or any other) hearing on an electronic device. You must seek the employees express and prior consent to the recording before the meeting begins. If they … Read More

Between the 14 June and 15 July 2018, some of your staff will be gripped by World Cup fever. What problems could this create and how can you manage them effectively? The match fixtures are on various days between 14 June and the 15 July 2018. This time round the World Cup could cause several problems for employers as many … Read More