It is clear from the press in recent weeks that there has been a widespread shift in terms of how much homeworking employers are willing to allow and indeed, in some cases, an almost complete volte face – with numerous house-hold name employers reportedly mandating their staff to work four or five days in the … Continue Reading
As of 1 July, the rules on Statements of Fitness for Work (“fit notes”) will change. In addition to doctors, now nurses, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists will also be able to issue them – although that must still be following an “assessment” and fit notes cannot be issued simply on request or “over the … Continue Reading
At the end of last year the Financial Conduct Authority consulted on increasing diversity and inclusion on company boards and executive management in the financial services sector, and on the back of the responses received, has yesterday published its “Policy Statement” which sets out the changes it intends. By way of quick summary (more detail … Continue Reading
A recent Acas survey has reported that over a third of employers (37%) are likely to make staff redundancies in the next 3 months (see here). That is a statistic which can be a surprise to no one, except possibly that it is not higher. Often in redundancy situations, the majority of the “sympathy” quite … Continue Reading
In the innocent days of early 2020 investment research firm MSCI predicted that this would be the year that “ESG storms the CFO’s office, elbowing its way onto their bottom line as financiers get creative with ways to bind ESG criteria to their terms of capital, introducing a plethora of corporate borrowers into the wide … Continue Reading
If you have been one of the many wilting at work in the Great British Heatwave of 2018 (or what I believe many other countries just call “summer”), panic not – Acas has issued new guidance to help ease your working day. Or not. Including such gems as “check with your local train company” to … Continue Reading
Another day, another sex scandal. A Martian reviewing the Evening Standard could reasonably conclude that this is an issue limited to film, media and politics but there would undoubtedly be those in many less glamorous workplaces who also have stories to tell and hopefully feel empowered to do so by the flood of others coming … Continue Reading
Find me an employment lawyer in the land who has not watched an episode of The Apprentice from behind the sofa, moaning in frustration that: “they wouldn’t get away with this in real life”. And it’s true. The television programme is jam-packed with procedural faux-pas, discriminatory comments and of course, Britain’s most belligerent boss himself, … Continue Reading
Many of Worldview’s readers will be familiar with the test for disability under the UK Equality Act 2010. In short, a person has a disability if he has a physical or mental impairment which has a “substantial and long-term adverse effect on that person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”. When the Minister responsible … Continue Reading
Recent press reports suggest that we can shortly look forward to one of the first cases under the Equality Act 2010 regarding discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation in the provision of services to the public. The allegation is that a lesbian couple booked a hotel room in Brighton by telephone, but when they arrived … Continue Reading
