@deliver_els, Author at Employment Law Services (ELS) LTD

Tribunal claims increase by 90% since the abolishment of fees!

Posted on 12 March 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Ministry of Justice has released its latest round of data on Employment Tribunals and key figures show:

Single Employment Tribunal claims received have increased by 90%
Single Employment Tribunal claims disposed of have increased by 21%
The backlog of single Employment Tribunal claims have increased by 66%
Multiple Employment Tribunal claims received have increased by 467%

From the launch of the Employment Tribunal refund scheme in October 2017 to 31^st December 2017, 4,800 applications for refunds were received, and 3,400 payments with a total value of £2.8m were made.

These statistics suggest that employers will continue to face a rapid increase in claims as employees are no longer restricted from using the Employment Tribunal process.

It is evident that this new advantage of being able to lodge an Employment Tribunal claim, is increasing costs for business owners and placing a significant amount of pressure on Employment Tribunals who have had to cut staff. In turn they are struggling to manage caseloads and as a result, outcomes are being delayed.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

If you require employment law advice on any of the issues raised in this article, or any other employment issue give us a call today on 0370 218 5662. You can also find out more about our fixed fee HR packages here and fixed fee employment law packages here, or get in touch.

GDPR Reminder

Posted on 5 March 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR becomes law 25th May 2018. Going forward, what does this mean for your business?

What is GDPR?

The new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out new rules for the handling of data. This may already be acknowledged as Data Protection; GDPR is set to replace this act. Therefore, businesses will need to alter the way in which they currently deal with personal details on employees and former employees and report any significant breaches.

What is the purpose of this change in the law?

It has become evident that the current statutory framework is not “fit for purpose” due to the increasing growth in the internet and online behaviour. Personal data is now being used in ways that were not foresaw when the Data Protection Act 1998 was first implemented.

Do I need to do anything?

Yes, GDPR will effect businesses of all sizes; implementing new legal requirements on employers because they fall into the category of “data controllers.”

Significant financial penalties will be imposed on employers should they breach the GDPR. This includes fines of up to €20 million or 4% of annual turnover, whichever is higher.

Therefore employers, if they have not done so already, should prepare for the following changes:

Detailed privacy notices

Under current Data Protection provisions, employers are required to provide employees and job applicants with a privacy notice informing individuals of certain information. Under GDPR, employers will now need to provide more detail, including:

How long the data will be kept on the system for
If the data will be transferred to other countries
Information on the right to make a subject access request
Information on the right to have personal data deleted or rectified

Restriction to consent

At present, employers tend to justify the processing of personal data on the grounds of employee consent. This approach has been widely criticised as there can be doubt as to whether or not consent is given freely in the employer – employee relationship.

The GDPR is expected to set out more prescriptive requirements when attempting to obtain consent. This means it will be more difficult for employers to rely on consent to justify processing.

New breach notification requirement

Article 31 of the GDPR provides that “in the case of a personal data breach, data controllers shall without undue delay” and no later than 72 hours after becoming aware of it, notify the personal data breach to the supervisory authority.

In the event that the breach poses a high risk to the rights and freedoms of the individuals, those in question will have to be made aware of this.

Data Protection officer

The GDPR makes it a requirement that organisations appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) in some circumstances.

Organisations must appoint a DPO if:

They are a public authority
Conduct large scale systematic monitoring of individuals
Are involved in carrying out large scale processing of special categories of data or data that relates to criminal convictions or offences

DPO’s will be expected to:

Advise on GDPR obligations
Monitor compliance
Liaise with the data protection authority

Act now

It is crucial that employers cooperate and understand the new GDPR regulations. Employers will need HR, legal, IT and compliance teams to take a united approach.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) Help?

When does the NMW and Living Wage increase?

Posted on 1 March 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Last week the Government announced a huge change for UK workers – Here is what you need to know:

Following on from the Budget in November 2017, Chancellor Phillip Hammond has announced that there would be an increase in the amount people will be entitled to earn in 2018.

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers under the age of 25 are entitled to by law.

The government’s National Living Wage (NLW) is the minimum pay per hour most workers aged 25 and over are entitled to by law.

The NLW is to increase from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour while the NMW will increase as follows:-

21 to 24 year old rate from £7.05 to £7.38 per hour
18 to 20 year old rate from £5.60 to £5.90 per hour
16 to 17 year old rate from £4.05 to £4.20 per hour
Apprentice rate from £3.50 to £3.70 per hour

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

Pimlico Plumbers case heard in the Supreme Court

Posted on 21 February 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard a crucial gig economy case with Pimlico Plumbers challenging last year’s Court of Appeal decision that a plumber who signed an agreement with the company defining himself as self-employed, was in fact a worker.

Last year, in Pimlico Plumbers Ltd & Another v Smith, the Court of Appeal held that a plumber was a worker under statutory provisions which should have entitled him to the rights of a worker throughout his employment.

In this case, Gary Smith was required under agreement to wear a uniform with the company’s logo on display and drive a van that was leased from the company. In addition, he was also required to work a minimum number of hours each week.

When Pimlico Plumbers v Smith reached the Court of Appeal; it was accepted that he was a worker, which entitled him to basic employment rights. Such as, the right to National Minimum Wage & the right to paid annual leave.

In this instance, the Court of Appeal had been particularly swayed by Mr Smith’s requirement to provide his services personally. His agreement with his employers did not allow him to get someone else to carry out his duties.

Charlie Mullins, who is the Chief Executive of Pimlico Plumbers said: “The outcome of the case will have huge ramifications for a large part of the economy, including the media, the health service and of course the construction industry.”

“In one three-year period Mr Smith earned more than £500,000 as a self-employed contractor, but when his circumstances changed he wanted me to foot the bill for sick and holiday pay, as well as to grant him other employment rights, which he was not entitled to, and which in my view he had already been paid to take care of for himself.”

Mullins argues that this case is not like Uber and other gig economy cases.

“The engineers who contract to Pimlico Plumbers are very highly-skilled individuals, can go anywhere and do whatever they want.”

“Pimlico Plumbers wants to comply with its obligations and it has always been our genuine belief that we have been doing that. HMRC has looked into the situation in the past and told us that engineers are self-employed. We have been operating in accordance with this.”

If the Supreme Court dismisses the appeal from Pimlico, like Uber, it has been predicted that we will see a notable transformation within the ever-growing gig economy. This means employers will have to adjust their business models to minimise risks associated with worker status.

This hearing is set to last 2 days with judgement expected in early March.

We will keep employers informed of updates as and when it comes in.

Taylor Review: Government pledges to reform workers’ rights

Posted on 13 February 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Government have reported that it will enforce workers’ rights from their first day in a new job.

On 7^th February, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said it had acted on “all but one of Matthew Taylors 53 recommendations.”

It has been proposed that the Good Work Plan will ensure that all workers, including casual and zero-hour workers will receive basic rights and payslips and, for the first time, ensure all workers receive holiday and sick pay.

In addition, the Good Work Plan will seek to guarantee the right for all workers to request a more stable contract of employment.

Greg Clark, Business Secretary said: “The Taylor Review said that the current approach to employment is successful but we should build on that success, in preparing for future opportunities.”

“We want to embrace new ways of working, and to do so we will be one of the first countries to prepare out employment rules to reflect new challenges.”

“We will take forward Matthew Taylors recommendations and commit to pursuing the quality of work as well as the number of jobs.”

However, before taking any further action, the Government have said it will consult with businesses on the impact of plans to enforce employment rights, change rules concerning agency workers, increase transparency in the labour market and consider employment status.

The Good Work Plan will include:

Tougher regulations for sectors who employ unpaid interns to do the job of a worker
Publishing names of employers who fail to pay Employment Tribunal awards
Quadrupling Employment Tribunal fines for employers who have shown malice, spite or gross oversight to £20,000
Higher minimum wage rates for individuals on zero-hour contracts

Matthew Taylor, the leading author of the Taylor Review and Chief Executive of the RSA said: “There is much more to be done to make good work for all a realistic goal, but the Government’s response, emphasising that the good work agenda must now change up a gear for Government, businesses and unions alike.”

“There is much more to be done to make good work for all a realistic goal, but the government’s response to my review is substantive and comprehensive. It will make a difference to the lives of the most vulnerable workers and that is what matters.”

Employment Status – Worker or Employee?

At present, an individual’s employment rights will depend upon whether they are an employee or a worker.

An individual is generally classes as a worker if:

They have a contract or other arrangements to do work or services personally for a reward
Their reward is for money or a benefit in kind
They only have a limited right to send someone else to do the work
They have to turn up for work even if they do not want to
Their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts

Employment Rights

Workers are entitled to certain employment rights which include:

National Minimum Wage
Protection against unlawful deduction of wages
The statutory minimum level of paid annual leave
The statutory minimum length of rest breaks
To not work more than 48 hours in one week or to opt out of this right if they choose
Protection against unlawful discrimination
To not be treated less favourably if they work part-time

An employee is someone who works under a contract of employment. All employees are workers; however, an employee has extra employment rights and responsibilities that do not apply to workers who are not employees.

Employment Rights

These rights include all of the rights workers have and:

Statutory sick pay
Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave and pay
Minimum notice periods if their employment will be terminated
Protection against unfair dismissal
Right to request flexible working
Time off for emergencies
Statutory redundancy pay

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

National Sickie Day 2018 – How should employers deal with absence in the workplace

Posted on 7 February 20189 June 2023 by @deliver_els

It has been reported that traditionally, the first Monday in February is the day in which the greatest number of employees in the UK take the day off due to illness.

It is suggested that this is down to a number of factors; this is the first pay weekend since Christmas, meaning a lot of people have been out celebrating all weekend. Another theory suggests that employees tend to revaluate their career paths in January, therefore, a lot of these sickies are to attend interviews.

After browsing the web, the top 10 ridiculous excuses include:

(1) I can’t come in today; my flatmates took the door handle off and I can’t get out

(2) All of my work clothes are wet

(3) I’ve managed to secure a parking space outside my house and I can’t risk losing it

(4) Goats got into my garden

(5) I’m stuck in the bathroom

(6) My mum was hoovering the stairs and I couldn’t get past

(7) My hamster is poorly

(8) Death of relative (relative later to be found alive and well)

(9) My trousers split on the way in

(10) I swallowed a hot sausage last night and it burnt my throat so badly

So, what action can employers take to pull the duvet off malingering employees?

Absenteeism

Is absenteeism an issue in your workplace?

This can be a difficult issue to tackle, especially because employee absences can occur for a number of different reasons.

Employers should:

Ensure attendance expectations are clearly set; this solution may be as simple as having clear drafted attendance policies
Enforce attendance policies consistently; it can be tempting for employers to allow more absences than the workplace policy states when an employee is facing a difficult situation. It is recommended that employers implement a policy that has flexibility built into it so I can be easily enforced throughout the workforce
Ensure all employees know what steps to take when they are going to be off sick; employees should be aware of who to contact, what time the contact should be made and what information should be provided. In addition, they should be aware of what documentation they will be required to provide (if any) when they return
Monitor absences; doing this allows employers to keep a note of absences and identify any patterns or trends
Carry out return to work interviews; these interviews should be conducted after every absence in the workplace. Employers should use return to work interviews to; welcome the employee back to work and check they are well enough to resume their duties

Presenteeism

Presenteeism, or going into work while sick can cause lack of productivity, poor health, exhaustion and workplace epidemics.

Therefore, employees who turn up sick to work, can have a significant and costly impact on the organisation, not only in terms of spreading the illness, but in terms of diminished productivity, quality of work and attention to safety.

Employers should:

Send sick employees home
Educate employees on the importance of staying at home when poorly
Promote health and well-being in the workplace
Foster a culture that discourages employees from coming into work when sick
Review current workplace policies

Employment Law Support for Employers

Presenteeism, like absenteeism, has only negative impacts on your workforce and the business as a whole. However, the issue can be avoided if addressed correctly.

Employment Law Services (ELS) offer training courses for employers on managing absence. As well as this, our legal experts can help your organisation address any underlying issues you may be facing.

If you require employment law advice on any of the issues raised in this article, or any other employment issue give us a call today on 0370 218 5662.

Presidents Club Scandal – Should this lead to better protections for employees?

Posted on 1 February 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

Following the undercover investigation conducted by the Financial Times, the issue of liability for third-party harassment has once again been again been challenged.

On this occasion, female hostesses are believed to have been subjected to sexual harassment by male guests at a high-profile charity event. It has been claimed that the female employees were groped and propositioned with comments of a sexual nature.

Recently, the spotlight has been firmly on sexual harassment because of high profile incidents in London and Hollywood, all of which have highlighted the gap in legal protection for employees harassed by third parties during work.

Until 2013, s40 of the Equality Act 2010 stated employers could be held liable for the harassment from third parties on their property. This meant, if the employer was aware of at least 2 previous incidents of its employees being harassed and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent this, he could be held liable for the incidents.

In 2012, the Coalition Government deemed this section of the Equality Act as an “unnecessary regulation introduced without any real or perceived need.” As a result of this, the specific protection for employees was abolished through the Enterprise & Regulatory Reform Act 2013. The Government cited a £300,000 saving from removing this legislation. This meant that employers were now no longer liable for the harassment of their employees carried out by third parties.

A few days prior to the Presidential scandal hitting the headlines, the Fawcett Society, a society who campaign for gender equality and women’s rights published a report urging that current harassment UK legislation ought to be strengthened. Within this report, they recommended reintroducing employer liability for third party harassment.

It has been suggested that the timing of this report and the allegations from the Presidential Club scandal will see even more pressure on the Government to reinstate previous provisions.

How can employers prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?

Whether your employees are at the office or are gathered at the works Christmas party, they should be well informed of the company’s sexual harassment policy and where to draw the line with their behaviour.

(1) Create a strong sexual harassment policy

Most employers should have already outlined the company’s sexual harassment policy within their employee handbook. If you have not, here is an outline of what should be included:

Zero tolerance statement
Examples of what is viewed as sexual harassment
A definition of sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010
Complaints procedure
Confidentiality agreement

(2) Train Employees

Once a year, employers should hold training sessions for all employees. In so doing employees should be made aware of what sexual harassment is under legislation, they have the right to a workplace free of sexual harassment and should be informed of the complaints procedure and how to use it.

(3) Train managers and supervisors

Annually, employers should hold training sessions for supervisors and managers only. These training sessions should educate your senior members of staff about sexual harassment and how to address complaints.

(4) Take all complaints seriously

Should an employee approach you with a complaint of sexual harassment, this should be taken seriously. Employers should act immediately and investigate the complaint. In the event that a complaint turns out to be a valid one, employers should respond swiftly and effectively.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

Employers are failing to verify candidate’s CV claims

Posted on 26 January 20188 June 2023 by @deliver_els

An investigation conducted by the BBC Radio 4’s File on Four programme disclosed that thousands of people from the UK had purchased fake degree certificates from a “diploma mill” in Pakistan, which promotes courses from a number of universities that do not exist.

Findings showed that around 3,000 fake qualifications – including Phds and master degrees – were purchased by UK based buyers, some of which were employed by the NHS, although there is no suggestion to say they are fundamentally unqualified.

This discovery has opened up a variety of questions about whether recruitment departments and HR have been carrying out efficient checks on accuracy of details provided in candidate’s CVs, this ranges from qualifications and experience to performance in previous roles.

Jane Rowley, Chief Executive of Higher Education Degree Data check (HEDD) said: “It’s a vicious circle of fraud – employers don’t make checks, so people embellish things on their CVs, they get away with it and the more they get away with it, the more they are inclined to embellish.”

She suggests further that the fake degree industry was surviving because employers were failing to undertake due diligence. Employers can use the HEDD website to verify whether a certificate is authentic.

Research conducted by the Risk Advisory Group identified that 38% of CVs studied from 25-32-year olds had been falsified.

Rowley estimated that only a fifth of employers carry out proper checks on applicant’s qualifications. She cautioned that using a fake degree certificate to apply for a job may be viewed as fraud by misrepresentation and could potentially carry a 10-year prison sentence.

It was reported that Axact sold more than 215,000 false qualifications worldwide from roughly 350 fictions universities and high schools to buyers in 2015.

Shoab Ahmed, Chief Executive of Axact was arrested in 2015 and released on bail after 15 months in custody, Umain Humaid was given 21 months in prison in August 2017.

The Department for Education said it was “taking decisive action to crack down on degree fraud that cheats genuine learners.”

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

Poundland boss was ‘unfairly dismissed’ for handing out freebies

Posted on 18 January 201812 June 2023 by @deliver_els

The Employment Tribunal has ruled that a manager of Poundland was unfairly dismissed for handing out free items to customers.

It was heard in Watford Employment Tribunal that Mr Zia was fired after misusing a button on the till that allowed employees to give out free items in the event of a complaint or damaged goods. His employers argued that the employee had used this tool excessively throughout his employment at the branch and was in breach of its policies.

Between the 1^st January and 13^th May 2016, the Employment Tribunal heard that Mr Zia had handed out £312.65 worth of free items. As a result of this, Poundland’s area manager intervened and opened an investigation on Mr Zia.

Poundland argued that this button was not available during the period that Mr Zia had handed out free items, however, Zia and his colleagues responded claiming that they were unaware of this.

The area manager who conducted the investigations failed to do a written report, instead, escalated the matter to a disciplinary hearing. During this hearing, Zia disputed that he had given out free items as ‘gestures of good will.’ However, the investigatory officer concluded that the “only reasonable outcome of this process was to be a summary dismissal.” Mr Zia then lodged an appeal on the grounds that he had been trained to use the free item button.

On accepting Zia’s claim that the dismissal was procedurally unfair and did not meet the band of reasonable responses test, especially because the employee had a clean record, Judge Manley held that Poundland’s investigation failed for a number of reasons.

“Poundland has no one to blame but itself for very poor methods of communication. Poundland needed to be clear about what the misconduct was. The evidence on how or when the free item button was stopped is opaque and inconsistent.” Said Judge Manley.

The Remedy Hearing of this case is due to take place on 16^th March 2018.

What is unfair dismissal?

To put it simply, unfair dismissal occurs when an employer terminates his employees contract of employment without having a fair reason to do so. Unfair dismissal can also be claimed in the event that there was a fair reason for dismissal, but the dismissal was handled using wrong procedure. Employees will be protected under legislation against both of these eventualities.

When is a dismissal fair?

The dismissal will be viewed as fair if the employer can provide evidence that the employee was dismissed for one of the following reasons:

The reason related to the employees conduct
The reason related to the employee’s capability or qualifications for the job
Because of redundancy
Because of a statutory duty or restriction prohibited the employment being continued
Some other substantial reason of a kind which justifies dismissal

When is a dismissal unfair?

A dismissal will be viewed as automatically unfair if the dismissal is connected with an employee exercising the following rights:

Pregnancy; this includes all reasons relating to paternity
Family reasons; including parental leave, paternity leave (birth & adoption) adoption leave or time off for dependants
Representation; including acting as an employee’s representative
Trade Union membership grounds and union recognition
Part time and fixed term employees
Pay and working hours

The case of Poundland highlights the importance of employers following procedure when disciplining an employee. Should an employee put themselves at risk of dismissal, this should be communicated through policies, investigations and disciplinary procedures.

It is important that employers have a consistent method of treating all employees fairly and in the same way. Policies and procedures may provide room for some discretion, but there should be careful consideration made when deciding not to follow a policy, and of the possible outcomes of this decision.

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?

Is your workplace disability friendly?

Posted on 11 January 20189 June 2023 by @deliver_els

As an employer, it is your duty to ensure employees feel comfortable at their place of work. Scope, a charity for individuals with a disability, reports that there are 13.3 million disabled people in the UK, at least 18% of those are adults of a working age. It was further reported that 3.4 million disabled people are currently employed.

It is suggested that this is not down to choice, or the nature of their disability; for some, it is the obstacles they face within a working environment that restricts them from getting a job.

Therefore, it is crucial that an organisations culture is inclusive of every single person, even those who suffer from a disability. However, this becomes problematic when an employer does not know how to achieve this.

What does the law say?

Under current employment and health & safety legislation, employers are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to the workplace for disabled employees. The purpose of this is to ensure those with a disability have equal access to workplace opportunities. An adjustment may be permanent or temporary, depending on the nature of the disability.

Access

You may have the facilities within the building for a disabled individual to carry out their job, however, without easy access in and around the building, this person is likely to face problems before reaching their place of work.

In the first instance, employers should consider offering disabled parking located closely to the building. In addition, employers should insert ramps at the entrance of the building, this gives wheelchair users access in and out of the premises without any difficulties.

When stairs are not an option for an individual, elevators and ramps will be required if the company operates across multiple floors. All elevators should have braille signs for those who are visually impaired.

Equipment

Papworth Trust reported that 53% of working age adults with some impairment experienced obstacles to work, in comparison to 30% of adults without.

In this day and age, most job roles require some form of technology engagement, assistive technologies can help break down those barriers that disabled employees encounter every day. Assistive technologies include braille keyboards, screen readers and listening devices.

Facilities

Small adjustments like placing braille signs in areas can dramatically change the working experience for those with a visual impairment.

In addition, providing employees with an alternative desk or chair can make a massive difference in helping an employee reach their potential.

In any event, employers should:

Manage work risks for all employees
Never make assumptions
Take disabled employees into consideration when conducting risk assessments and any reasonable adjustments required
Consult with specialists where necessary

How can Employment Law Services (ELS) help?