Infectious diseases
Updated to add menstrual problems and menstrual disorders to the list of steps employers will need to report on in their equality action plan under the Employment Rights Bill.
The rules around COVID-19 were very clearly drawn in 2020. But what is the state of play now, not just in relation to COVID but to illness in the workplace generally? What should organisations do about employees who are nervous about returning to the workplace? Or about at-risk employees, particularly when infection rates are high? Or about long COVID - is it now treated as a disability?
We reflect on the key decisions from last year and look forward to the case law trends likely to emerge in 2023. These include cases on: gender identity, holiday pay, coronavirus-related health and safety cases, industrial action, and dismissal and re-engagement.
HR is anticipating another challenging year as they play a key role in protecting the business in uncertain economic times by ensuring the right people are in the right roles, while also supporting employees sustainably through the cost-of-living crisis.
We look at three cases dealing with issues around discrimination and whistleblowing, arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
In Burke v Turning Point Scotland, an employment tribunal found that an employee with long COVID was disabled under the Equality Act 2010.
As the number of monkeypox cases in the UK rises, employers have been advised to conduct risk assessments and ensure they follow standard sickness procedures if a worker becomes infected. Ashleigh Webber pulls together advice for employers whose staff may be infected or at risk of infection with monkeypox.
In Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd, the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a tribunal's decision that the employee's dismissal for refusing to return to the workplace because of concerns about the pandemic was not automatically unfair for a health and safety reason.
The pandemic has generated a greater appetite among employees for remote and/or hybrid working patterns. Consultant editor Darren Newman explores how employers can strike a balance between advocating a physical return to the workplace and satisfying staff who are pushing to spend more time working from home.
HR and legal information and guidance relating to infectious diseases.