Sector focus
While positive action in recruitment is laudable, and to be encouraged as a means of overcoming disadvantage and low participation, employers need to think very carefully about how they go about it, because if they make mistakes the cost may be high. Jason Braier explains why.
Although a recent Court of Appeal decision concerning suspension in relation to safeguarding concerns provides an element of reassurance for employers, consultant editor Darren Newman explains why suspension should still be used only sparingly.
In Flemming v East of England Ambulance Services NHS Trust, an employment tribunal held that an NHS Trust discriminated against a mentally ill employee by dismissing him for gross misconduct following his failure to attend a sickness absence review meeting and occupational health appointments.
Consultant editor Darren Newman considers whistleblowing in the NHS, focusing on the public interest test and the danger of working on the basis that an allegation is malicious.
In South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust v Jackson and others, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that, as long as the miscommunication came from an administrative error, an employee whose redundancy redeployment form was sent to an inaccessible work email address was not unfavourably treated because she was on maternity leave.
In London Borough of Lambeth v Agoreyo, the Court of Appeal held that the proper test for the courts for deciding if an employee's suspension breached the implied term of trust and confidence is whether or not the employer's decision to suspend was a "reasonable and proper" response to the allegations.
In Furlong v Chief Constable of Cheshire Police, an employment tribunal held that a police force's recruitment process discriminated against a white heterosexual male candidate who was rejected after the positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010 were applied to a pool of 127 applicants who passed the interview stage.
Equality is high on the agenda of most NHS employers. As well as being subject to the gender pay gap reporting regime, NHS employers are required to comply with an equality standard in relation to race, and from April 2019 will be required to comply with a standard on disability. Nicky Green from law firm Capsticks explores what the standards mean for NHS employers.
We explore the potential impact of workers' exposure to traumatic events and other stressful environments on their families and look at some of the measures that employers can take to support those families.
The Government has announced plans to change the way breaks in employment are treated, which could have a greater impact for local government than for employers in the private sector, due to the operation of the modification order.
HR and legal information, news and guidance relating to specific industry sectors.