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Paul Harrison and Stephen Ratcliffe discuss the impact of the Additional Paternity Leave Regulations 2010 and some key challenges arising from their implementation ‘European case law has generally found that women on maternity leave are in a unique position and so men have not been able to compare themselves to them.’ Paternity leave is, of …
Continue reading "Additional Paternity Leave: Father time"
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The government is repealing the proposed extension of the ‘right to request flexible working’ due to be implemented this month, and will impose a moratorium on new regulations for small businesses, report Stephen Ravenscroft and Helen Mulligan ‘Flexible working may present practical difficulties for employers, particularly in smaller businesses that often do not have the …
Continue reading "Flexible Working: Bending the rules"
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Robert Thomas and Dawn da Silva explore the legal implications of recent findings that longer working hours are causing rising sickness absence, stress and employee grievances ‘Organisations that are “running lean” in staff terms are more likely to experience serious problems that will affect productivity, work quality and, potentially, their competitive advantage.’ A number of …
Continue reading "Working Hours: A time bomb for employers"
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With the government embarking on another review of the UK’s sickness-absence system, Matthew Howse and Emma Damiral suggest practical ways for employers to get their staff back to work ‘The purpose of the fit note was to encourage employees to return to work in some capacity, with appropriate support, rather than stay off work because …
Continue reading "Sickness Absence: Fit for business"
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The risks of seeking to recruit a whole team of staff from a rival employer before their employment ends have been highlighted by a recent ruling, explains Christine Young ‘Poachers (and, in fact, any new employer) will need to think about how they treat a new hire even before employment commences, given that they may …
Continue reading "Team Moves: Appeal court takes aim at poachers"
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Clare Parkinson examines the new single public sector equality duty in light of a recent finding that HMRC’s treatment of a disabled woman was discriminatory ‘Section 149 of the Equality Act widens the scope of the existing public sector equality general duties by requiring public authorities to have due regard to the need to “advance” …
Continue reading "Equality Act: Duties on public bodies"
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It may not be the landmark case hoped for, but the conviction of Cotswold Geotechnical points the way to significant fines following workplace fatalities in the future, argues Jan Burgess ‘Geotechnical disappoints because it fails to reveal anything about the way in which the new legislation will really work.’ In February, Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd …
Continue reading "Corporate Manslaughter: Learning the lessons from the first prosecution"
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The government’s consultation document on resolving workplace disputes gives Esther Smith a distinct sense of déjà vu ‘Despite what many employers think, employment lawyers aren’t only interested in areas where we perceive that we can make more money, but do have a genuine wish to see the system overhauled both for our own benefit and …
Continue reading "Tribunal Reform: Back to the future"
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Helena Laughrin and Robin Wolfenden review the key employment-related recommendations in the government’s Equality Strategy ‘The government views making pay transparent as the first step to reducing the gender pay gap. It intends to work with businesses and others to develop a voluntary scheme for gender pay reporting in the private sector.’ On 2 December …
Continue reading "Equality: Coalition promises culture change"
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