Tragically bouncy castles and play inflatables have been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons, with a 3 year old girl fatally injured in an incident involving an inflatable trampoline at Gorelston in Norfolk and two people being jailed following the death of another young girl when a bouncy castle blew away at a park in Harlow, Essex … Read More
Unfairly dismissed: the right to appeal
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
Dependents’ leave during school holiday
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
Deaths in the workplace rise
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
Feeling the heat: too hot to work?
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
Stuart Upton on Information Security
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
Lemonade and Business Continuity Planning – a view from Stuart Upton, PIB Risk Management
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
Can you record a disciplinary hearing?
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
Managing World Cup fever
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
Employee called a “whinger” wins £26,000
The Department for Working Pensions (DWP) has been ordered to pay a disabled employee £26,000. What did bosses at the DWP do which enabled this employee to claim a sizable amount of compensation? In April 2018, there were several interesting media reports about Barrie Caulcutt’s (C) success at a tribunal. C, who is employed by the DWP as a Jobcentre … Read More