For a limited period we are offering non-myHRdept clients support with their redundancy programmes, subject to our availability. Our Covid Redundancy Service comprises of: 2 X 30 minute

From 1st April NMW rates will increase again with the 25+ rate moving from £7.83 to £8.21. Our article covers all of the band increases and forecast increases

Bereavement leave will be introduced in 2020, the government has now announced, but employers should establish a suitable policy in 2019. Our article covers the detail. As the

Can an illegally working employee enforce employment rights? September 2019 ‘Sometimes’, appears to be the answer from Okedina Vs Chikale.   The conventionally held belief is that if an

The DTI announced an increase in spot checks to expose breaches of minimum wage regulations in 2007, and ‘high risk’ sectors including small independent employers are certain to

4th May 2007 With so many pressures and priorities on small businesses is it any wonder that the daunting, and lets face it, apparantly dull and unnecessary task

Since our publishing the article below the Court of Appeal has overturned the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s decision in this case, ruling that although the final warning given to

6th May 2010 From April 06 2010 the new paternity laws come into being. BUT….they won’t apply in the case of parents of babies born before 3rd April

30th March 2011 In an effort to make running a small business or to get a start up off the ground simpler, the Business Minister, Vince Cable, has

1st April 2011 At the moment fathers are entitled to take 2 weeks’ paid paternity leave within 8 weeks of the birth, paid at the relevant statutory rate

13th October 2013 The government has announced that it intends to enforce a cap on the commissions that auto enrolment pension providers can charge members. The Treasury is

6th November 2013 On 30th October, we updated you on the Government plans to cap auto enrolment pension charges, and it would appear we aren’t alone in our concerns over

19th December 2013 With the ever increasing popularity of social media sites, the volume of personal information online grows each day. As an employer looking to recruit new

31st December 2013 The Times reported today that EU officials are three times ‘sicker’ than the average British private sector workers, who took 5 days of on average

HR outsourcing can make great financial & operational sense…. but there are pitfalls for the unwary! 2nd January 2014 Times remain difficult, and employers are being encouraged by

10th January 2014 The possibility of extreme weather conditions disrupting business is often a concern at this time of year, but with floods across the UK and snow

17th January 2014 It is estimated that one sixth of British workers are paid the minimum wage. – Around 1.35 million people. Since its introduction in 1999, when

Sir Michael Rake, President of the CBI has voiced his opinions on the suggested rise in the National Minimum Wage. 21st January 2014 On 17th January, we wrote

21st January 2014 You may recall our October article outlining Government plans to cap auto enrolment pension charges, and the subsequent November story concerning the resulting industry debate. Now the story develops

On 17th January, we wrote about George Osborne’s plans to increase the National Minimum Wage to £7.00 per hour by 2015, and the reaction of the Chairman of

29th January 2014 Britain’s bosses are among the most optimistic in the world according to a survey held by PwC; with 61% of UK CEO’s “more confident about

7th February 2014 With the best recruitment practices in the world, mistakes do happen inside and outside of the probation period. Do we persevere with an unsuitable person, run the

10th February 2014 2013 saw a number of legislative developments in the area of employment law and 2014 will bring many more. In this article we review the

5th March 2014 UK Border Agency recruits 10 illegal immigrants and Minister Mark Harper illegal employed a foreign worker as a cleaner. If neither the Government nor its

11th March 2014 Small employers are often tempted by ‘HR insurance’ offerings providing employment tribunal protection cover. It’s not hard to see why, employment is complex, legal advice

13th March 2014 In England a would-be litigant must pay a fee of up to £250 (depending on the type of claim) to list a claim and another

19th March 2014 The real cash value of wages hasn’t increase since 2007, but wages are expected to be on the up this year – this is likely

20th March 2014 At only £2.65 per hour apprentices offer great value for employers, and yesterday the Chancellor announced funding for an additional 100,000 places, including degree level

20th March 2014 Employers who employ or engage employees under the age of 21 at or after 6 April 2015 will not be required to pay employer NICs

7th April 2014 From yesterday Early Conciliation applies to pretty much every employment tribunal claim albeit voluntarily for a few weeks. Under the new regime all new claims

17th April 2014 2014 wages – hold static or be prepared to increase? Conflicting pressures present a dilemma for small employers. Previously in my career I have been

19th April 2014 Did you know that if the person you’re giving a reference to on the other end of the phone is making notes on your comments,

20th April 2014 The Health and Work Service will provide occupational health advice and support for employees, employers and GPs to help individuals with a health condition to stay in

22nd April 2014 Whether or not Labour MP Jim Divine is the sort of chap you’d want round your house (jailed for expenses fraud in 2011, bullied his

1st May 2014 Minister of State for Education and Business, Matthew Hancock, has reportedly hailed figures showing a fall in the number of tribunal cases in the last

And you think you’ve got employee relations problems – CEO killed over working hours 17th June 2014 Fed up of whinging employees complaining about their wages? Think yourself

Changes in Flexible Working Requests 27th June 2014 Legal changes that will extend the right to request flexible working to ALL eligible employees will come into force on

Can you Adam and Eve it!?…Victims of accent bias need legal protection 9th July 2014 This could well be the latest unrecognised discrimination: Geordies, Liverpudlians and Cockneys are

11th July 2014 A 38 year old procurement consultant claimed that she lost her job after her employer discovered she had a butterfly tattoo on her foot. Jo

16th July 2014 A priest has been awarded £62,000 after being paid less than £2 an hour for working 65 hours a week at a temple in Birmingham.

18th July 2014 The Equality Act 2010 details 9 categories of ‘protected characteristics’. These include sex, race, age, sexual orientation and, the subject of this brief update, disability.

21st July 2014 The employment rate has hit a record high at 73.1 per cent in the three months to May, according to official figures. The Office for

22nd July 2014 A third of Britain’s growing army of home workers have admitted that they worked in their garden during last week’s heatwave. One in five confessed

25th July 2014 A recent study commissioned by the financial technology company Kalixa, revealed that half of Britons’ are so unhappy at work that they believe their career

29th July 2014 The professional body for solicitors, The Law Society, appears to suffer from bullying and discrimination in the workplace. A survey of its own employees suggests

30th July 2014 The Court of Appeal in Prophet plc v Huggett ruled that an incorrectly worded restrictive covenant, intended to prevent an employee working for a competitor,

1st August 2014 Earlier this week, myhrdept wrote an article covering how bullying and harassment in the workplace were commonplace in some companies (See the story HERE.) Today, we

6th August 2014 Last month, myhrdept posted an article entitled ‘Employment High’, outlining the employment rate hitting a record high at 73.1 per cent in the three months to

Better designed offices could boost both physical and mental health of workers. 11th August 2014 An early night after a hot bath, curling up with a good book

12th August 2014 Paul Burstow, former care minister, has led a year-long review into the care industry in the UK and has recommended that a license to practice

Whether or not to allow e-smoking is a matter for individual employers to decide 12th August 2014 The balance is definitely on the side of etiquette rather than

14th August 2014 Women will have to wait another 60 years for equal pay if the gender gap continues to close at the present rate. Statistics from the

18th August 2014 According to a recent report, cleaners working in British offices, hotels and public places are regularly subject to bullying, discrimination and under-payment. Almost half a

29th August 2014 Migrants are being caught in unprecedented numbers, a police union spokesman said yesterday, but they are quickly released, and try to cross the Channel again,

3rd September 2014 Germany is poised to enact an anti-stress law that would make it illegal for employers to send emails to workers during their free time and

15th September 2014 More low-income workers are now putting enough away in savings for their retirement than in 2012 – a vindication of the government’s auto-enrolment plan to

17th September 2014 New national minimum wage rates apply from 1st October 2014. The National Minimum Wage applies to all employees and workers in the UK and was

14th October 2014 A survey of 10,000 workers by O2 revealed more than half thought technological breakthroughs will transform the way we work over the next five to

16th October 2014 A new series of The Apprentice has been put back on our screens this week and Sir Alan Sugar has got people talking about effective

21st October 2014 The perks available to Silicon Valley staff are already known to be what every employee dreams of. Now, Facebook and Apple are offering female employees

24th October 2014 A recent case brought to Tribunal stems from an alleged simple act of omission. A Muslim employee claims she was not invited to the Company’s

24th October 2014 John Lewis is a partnership, but holiday rules apply in the same way as to limited companies and other employers, who should urgently consider their

27th October 2014 Widely reported this weekend, solicitors Leigh Day are taking a test case on behalf of 400 workers at Asda….and if they win, the case will

4th November 2014 The Living Wage Foundation annually reviews the basic costs of living when calculating its Living Wage recommendations, i.e. the amount of money it believes employers

5th November 2014 Yesterday saw a landmark judgement from the Employment Appeal Tribunal that will have significant implications for employers who regularly provide overtime. The press has covered

17th November 2014 The tribunals have been full recently of holiday pay cases, starting with Williams Vs British Airways and ending with Fulton Vs Bear Scotland, with the

19th November 2014 It was recently reported that a school teacher was turned away from work at St John Vianney primary school in Hartlepool because she was “covered

1st December 2014 Today, the new regulations regarding Shared Parental Leave (SPL) come into force. The new regulations give parents greater flexibility in how they share the care

6th January 2015 The Times has revealed today that a woman from Sierra Leone has been working in the Palace of Westminster under a forged passport. With all

15th January 2015 It was revealed this week that half of all those approaching retirement intend to carry on working when they reach their mid-sixties. A national study

22nd January 2015 This week, The Times printed a 4 page article on businesses shifting focus to strategic solutions. Laura Doughty, director of strategy and operations consulting and

3rd February 2015 In recent news we have seen the regrettable Benedict Cumberbatch make a public error whilst attempting to be honourable by highlight the lack of opportunities

16th February 2015 The Times recently reported that Japan is to force workers to take their paid holidays in an attempt to combat a culture of excessive work that has

17th February 2015 Out of time at tribunal but claim goes on Nayif v High Commission of Brunei Darussalam Claimants have a three-month time limit to notify Acas

25th February 2015 A study has revealed that a staggering one in five employees in the UK are not honest when it comes to stating their real job

26th February 2015 Last week The Times reported on the Government scheme requiring anyone who is absent from work due to illness for more than four weeks to

4th March 2015 Female bosses of Britain’s blue-chip businesses are still receiving lower pay and bonuses than their male counterparts. A female chief executive at one of the

10th March 2015 Successful claimants don’t always get the compensation they think they’re entitled to. One reason is the possibility of awards being reduced to reflect the part

10th March 2015 It was only a matter of time before electronics got its clever bionic fingers on cigarettes. Now e-cigarettes are everywhere – including at work. But

10th March 2015 Easter is almost here already. Being a movable feast, it keeps us on our toes. And that’s certainly going to be the case for some

17th March 2015 Last week a tribunal heard how a manager of one of Britain’s most prestigious shoe makers was accused of hiring only attractive saleswomen with the

1st April 2015 Stoute was a bus driver, dismissed from Metroline Travel for gross misconduct. He claimed that he was ‘disabled’ (as defined in the Equality Act) and

8th April 2015 Last month the Ministry of Justice revealed a 12% decline in single claims received by the employment tribunal service in the last quarter of 2014

14th April 2015 Following the tragic crash of the German aeroplane where a pilot flew 150 people to their deaths following a long term battle with mental health,

16th April 2015 Are you recruiting the right people for your business? How do you know? Employers, even smaller employers, need to ensure that they balance their team

What the General election could mean for employers 17th April 2015 The General Election will influence the number of employment tribunal cases in the UK – these have

22nd April 2015 In small companies it isn’t always easy to carry out investigations or performance/absence reviews, sometimes because of workload, sometimes because of the closeness of the

23rd April 2015 In the Court of Appeal case of Way Vs Spectrum Property Care Ltd, a final warning given in ‘bad faith’ and later relied on to

1st May 2015 In Shrestha v Genesis Housing Association Ltd, (Court of Appeal) S, the employee was found to have been fairly dismissed for claiming almost twice the

5th May 2015 Employment law isn’t always stacked in the favour of employees you know. Chadburn made up race discrimination allegations to inflate her claim against Doncaster NHS

14th May 2015 According to official figures released this week, the UK has reached a record number of 1.9 million Eastern Europeans working in the UK. The figures

25th May 2015 Surely we can’t have a summer without the Sun running that headline, but with meteorologists forecasting a 25% chance of the hottest summer on record,

1st June 2015 Zero hours contracts banned. More than a year ago the then Business Secretary Vince Cable announced in his speech to the Liberal Democrat conference that

2nd June 2015 When delegates at the annual conference of the Irish Traveller Movement tried to get a pint in the Coronet pub in Islington, they were turned

4th June 2015 Ms Begum who applied for an apprenticeship as a nursery assistant, is a practicing Muslim whose religious belief requires her to wear a garment that

21st June 2015 The Begum case (click here for details) proved to be a victory for common sense, as the particular garment Ms Begum wanted to wear to

25th June 2015 In the widely reported case of Begum v Pedagogy Auras UK Ltd t/a Barley Lane Montessori Day Nursery, Ms Begum, a nursery assistant failed in

29th June 2015 This time a Northern Irish tribunal rules that voluntary overtime should be included in holiday pay calculations. This is yet another development in the long running

29th June 2015 Travelling time to and from work should be paid for some workers, rules the Advocate General in a Spanish case that, if ratified by the

13th July 2015 Last week the Chancellor announced in the budget the introduction of a National Living Wage from next April. The NLW effectively introduces a new higher

14th July 2015 UK is “worst country” for managing absence, says welfare secretary Ian Duncan Smith. But how long does it take to properly manage poor performance or

10th September 2015 When an employee is presented with a new or amended employment contract most employees will have it signed and on its way back to you

16th September 2015 In response to customer feedback we have made some important changes: We have shortened employment contracts where we can As a result some of the

In British Waterways Board v Smith, Smith was fairly (in the Employment Appeal Tribunal’s (EAT) opinion) dismissed for making derogatory comments on Facebook about his managers and work.

29th September 2015 The introduction of tribunal fees saw a sharp decline in the number of tribunal applications. Unison (the public sector union) claim the fees are a

6th November 2015 You can’t have missed the enormous press coverage of Eva Carneiro, the former Chelsea Club Doctor, who is suing both Jose Mourinho personally and Chelsea

7th November 2015 HR spotlight – our smaller business top tips for painlessly building an employment law compliant HR system for your business. Building in compliance with employment law

7th November 2015 In the last month the government via the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has issued guidance on zero hours contracts and on when

9th November 2015 When restaurant owner Chris Charalambous sacked his chef Mr Hillis, we doubt the insertion of a smiley face into his text would have saved him.

21st November 2015 The festive season carries its own challenges for employers, and while in most cases, we can relax and enjoy ourselves, there are some common problems

7th December 2015 In our first case, ZSL Vs Westlake, two female employees from ZSL ended up having a fight at a staff Christmas party. The claimant, Ms

8th December 2015 Clarkson faces employment tribunal – Last month we reported that Chelsea FC and Mourinho were being jointly sued for constructive dismissal by their former Team

1st February 2016 We head towards 1st April 2016 which will see the introduction of a National Living Wage which will apply to all who are 25 and older.

2nd February 2016 A widely reported European Court of Human Rights case (binding on the UK) may have given employers the (wrong) impression that they can snoop at

3rd February 2016 At myHRdept we spend a lot of time helping employers protect their confidential information and commercial interests through carefully worded employment contract clauses. But in

4th March 2016 Employment tribunals are still a rarer beast than they used to be (since the introduction of fees requiring employees to pay to register a claim),

17th March 2016 Statistically a new employee is more than 3 times as likely to leave as an employee with 2 years or more. What can employers do

18th March 2016 The ‘vote leave’ campaigners have earned considerable media inches and hours about the benefits to GB businesses from no longer being part of the European

18th March 2016 Employer’s liability for employee’s assault on customer. When Morrison’s supermarket employee Khan physically attacked a customer, were Morrison’s liable for Mr Khan’s actions? Yes, said the

25th March 2016 If you employ one of the 5 million people who are entitled to commission or overtime, are you sure you are paying holiday pay correctly?

30th March 2016 For workers with no fixed base the first and last journeys are counted as ‘working time’ …. But this does NOT mean they have to

31st March 2016 A well drafted restrictive covenant can be a useful thing – many employers have relied on them to stop former employees taking their confidential information

From today 1st April 2016 the National Living Wage of £7.20 per hour which applies to all who are 25 and older. Basically this an extra minimum wage category

27th May 2016 Mr Ajaj was employed by Metroline as a bus driver between 2004 and 2014, when he was dismissed for gross misconduct, having been found by

7th July 2016 With Scotland having already announced the abolition of fees, it appears we may be a step closer to taking this step in England, even in the

Not always, said the tribunal in Carter vs Aulds Bakeries ltd, finding that Carter was unfairly dismissed after his employment was terminated on the grounds of frustration when

What will the “leave” vote mean in practice for employment law in the UK? Prior to the Brexit vote the leave campaigners waxed lyrical about de-regulation, simplifying employment

An employee who secretly moonlighted as a porn star has successfully claimed unfair dismissal. But her employer would probably have won the case if it hadn’t made one

Many employers have exclusivity clauses in their employment contracts stating that the employee cannot work for another employer, whether on a paid or voluntary basis, without the employers

A recent case has highlighted how difficult the question of establishing a ‘disability’ can be – even an Employment Tribunal judge seems to have been confused, leading the

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates are changing on 1st October and employers need to make sure the new rates are implemented for all hours worked from that

We often get asked whether a disciplinary can proceed in an employee’s absence. If an employee has given a genuine reason for not attending then it is unlikely

Everyone has an off day, but some employees are just too disruptive, and at myHRdept we’ve seen numerous examples of employers suffering in silence, believing there is nothing

From time to time every business owner will look at the team and want to make changes that lead to employees having to leave. Unless this is generated

Can you refuse to employ a smoker? It may surprise you, but yes you can – smoking is not one of the 9 ‘protected characteristics’ on which we

It is a commonly (and wrongly) held belief that employers are entitled to make deductions from wages, when in fact deductions can only be made for a very

We’ve had the question over and over again, and many of you will recognise the scenario….your employee is supposed to give a month’s notice, but turns up this

Small businesses are like families and it’s difficult enough to part company with employees without having to go through painful time consuming processes. A voluntary settlement agreement can

In a case which is sure to have major ramifications for the so called “gig” economy an Employment Tribunal has ruled that two cab drivers providing services to

When 2 cabin crew employees asked EasyJet Airline to roster them for a maximum of 8 hours, the airline failed to take adequate account of medical evidence and

Most of our clients are small businesses and they often experience peaks and troughs in their workloads. We often have to advise on whether an employer can reasonably

It seems like every year we send out a reminder that Companies can be held responsible for the inebriated improper behaviour of their employees at the office Christmas

Do employers need to insist workers take their breaks, or is it up to the employee to assert their rights to a rest break. And what actually constitutes

20th January 2017 We’re all used to minimum wage changes in October, but it’s all change from this year with the annual revisions coming in ahead of Easter,

From time to time it becomes necessary to replace employment contracts, but our experience of numerous repeats of this exercise with various employers has enabled us to frame

When they’re employed by Pimlico as a self employed plumber apparently. 13th February 2017 When they’re employed by Pimlico as a self employed plumber apparently. This is an

Many firms have a very laudable aim of zero tolerance towards violence in the workforce and in the majority of cases it would be reasonable for an employer

Not in the case of Gareddu V London Underground said the Employment Appeal Tribunal, for our briefing on what employers should be aware of when asked for leave

The police service has a rule in its attendance policy – if you’re off sick, you must remain contactable and notify your manager if you’re planning on travelling

From 6th April 2017 the limit on unfair dismissal compensation payable increases from the lower of a year’s gross salary or £80,541. These are upper limits of course,

6th April 2017 sees the customary increases in dismissal compensation and a ‘week’s pay’ for the purposes of calculating various things, most commonly redundancy pay. If you want

As most employers are aware employees with less than two years’ continuous employment don’t generally have a right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. But employers should

Poor attenders are highly disruptive, drain our patience and dent the morale of other team members who need to cover absentees. 6th April 2017 In common with most

Even if a long term sick employee is no longer entitled to sick pay, they are still clocking up paid holiday entitlement (which will not, contrary to popular

Time and again we discuss holidays with our clients, how to calculate them and how to express them. We’re often challenged on why holiday should be expressed in

The Office for National Statistics has confirmed that absence is at an all time low. The rate varies according to sector, country area, employment status and lifestyle issues

LinkedIn – who owns customer contacts & is it necessary to have a LinkedIn policy? Salesman A resigns and hooks up with a competitor. He uses his LinkedIn

You’ll have heard of the term ‘instant dismissal’ or ‘summary dismissal’ of course but what does it actually mean? Most employers think that in the most serious examples

We have case after case now of ‘self-employed’ people being considered to be workers. It started with the Uber case and since then we’ve Deliveroo and Citysprint cycle

Receiving a tribunal application from an ex-employee presents broadly 2 options 1) fight it, 2) settle it. Given that fighting a tribunal can cost upwards of £5K its

Age Discrimination legislation was first introduced 11 years ago and in 2010 it became part of the Equality Act encompassing the core 9 threads of discrimination law. With

When it’s a ‘Some Other Substantial Reason’ dismissal. When restructuring their businesses employers often confuse redundancy with SOSR, and make unnecessary compensation payments. 25th July 2017 Imagine a

Poor employment lawyers, they’ve had a hell of a time since the introduction of tribunal fees in 2013 led to a 70% drop in claims. But it appears

Reduction of status – Our Estate Manager came into the office this week to empty the bins (a very unusual thing for him to do) and it set

Following Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts and others it is now time for employers to review their holiday pay practices in relation to holiday pay. The previous

Recently a friend entered a debate on LinkedIn about whether an office dog is a good idea or not. Last time I looked the thread had 150 contributions.

The abolition of tribunal fees and the inevitable increase in litigation means employers should use extra caution when approaching employee dismissals whether by redundancy or any other reason.

When tribunal fees were introduced in 2013, claims dropped by 70%. Now the fees have been abolished the signs appear to suggest an increase in claims. In the

Historically, the EAT have held that Foster carers were not workers. For a role to attract worker status there must be a contract. Formal agreements govern the Foster

It stands for ‘General Data Protection Regulation’ and in essence it’s an extension of data protection laws that will hit us on 25th May 2018 – its impact

Discrimination cases can be the most expensive to defend and carry the highest compensation payments for successful claimants. When Ms Ramos, a nurse breastfeeding her 4 month old

Potentially quite a lot following the very important case of King Vs Sash Windows at the European Court of Justice – a decision that will influence domestic decisions.

The Working Time Regs 1998 entitle employees to a minimum of 5.6 weeks statutory holiday each year equating to 28 days for those who work a 5 day

We’re all used to minimum wage changes in October, but it’s all change from this year with the annual revisions coming in ahead of Easter, and now including

Crawford Vs Network Rail looked again at whether the 20 minute break in 6 hours can be discontinuous or whether it needs to be one break – we

Of course tribunal claims were bound to increase – when fees were introduced in 2013 the number of claims plummeted 70%+, now the fees have gone…guess what? Employment

While we reported last year on the case of King Vs Sash Windows (if you haven’t read the report yet we would encourage you to do so) the

Your employee went on the standard permitted 2 week holiday, but then became ‘ill’ and overstayed by another 2 weeks, producing a medical note from a local doctor

Many times we’ve been asked whether in the midst of a disciplinary investigation an employee can be suspended, and many employers feel it is their right to do

You know the routine. It snows. Britain stops. Now, the folks in the North of England and Scotland today have genuine cause for concern, but for others a

Easter’s on its way and with it comes the new National Minimum Wage rates and the National Living Wage adjustment for the over 25s. Read on to see

Welcome to our GDPR special! 4th May 2018 Welcome to our GDPR special. Like many of the readers of this article, we are ourselves a small business (with

Following a decrease in sales between 2012 and 2016 Mr Mostyn’s sales declined and S&P, Mr Mostyn’s employer, asked him to take a pay cut from £45K to

Mr Mbubaegbu, a consultant surgeon, was dismissed by an NHS Foundation Trust after 15 years service and despite not having any previous warnings and not committing gross misconduct.

ONS records show that the average employee took just over 4 days absence in 2017, a substantial drop. What’s behind this and what does this mean for your

If the reason for the change is not solely or mainly the TUPE itself… 18th September 2018 Conventional wisdom has it that any change to an employee’s benefits

13th December 2018 Under current rules citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland may live and work in the UK without special permission. Brexit of course

High profile cases in 2018 saw some of the world’s foremost figures on both sides of the Atlantic being acutely criticised for allegedly using non disclosure agreements (NDAs)