News & commentary

On this page you will find the latest news on employment law, HR and health & safety matters. They are updated regularly and you will find new content here on a weekly basis.

Latest news & commentary

17 May 2012

Suspension without pay over £2 million fraud probe – a costly mistake

Employees under investigation may be suspended with pay under their employer’s disciplinary procedure. [...]
15 May 2012

London Olympic Games 2012 – Call-up of reserve forces to aid security

Over 2,000 members of the Volunteer Reserve Forces - the Territorial Army, the Reserve Air Forces, the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Marines Reserve - face being called up to assist with security at the forthcoming Olympic Games. [...]
14 May 2012

Sunday trading restrictions suspended for the Olympic Games

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are almost upon us and, as reported in this year’s budget (see March 2012 LAWmail) the government has introduced legislation to relax Sunday trading laws in England and Wales for the Olympic period.[...]
09 May 2012

EAT finds that Stringfellows stripper is an employee

The question of employment status often has employers scratching their heads. Well, Peter Stringfellow can now sleep soundly in his bed knowing that, for one of his employees, this particular dilemma has been resolved.[...]
07 May 2012

Facebook fail: employee dismissed for online sexual harassment

The last few years have seen an explosive rise in social media, and those dealing with employment law issues will know that online behaviour is increasingly becoming a headache for employers.[...]
04 May 2012

LAW wins Great Place to Work Award

It’s official! Law At Work has been recognised by the Great Place to Work® Institute UK as one of the best small workplaces in Scotland.[...]
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27 April 2012

Leave it out! A right royal rumpus…

Another year, another Royal celebration and another headache for small businesses struggling to make ends meet.[...]
26 April 2012

Minister nearly slips on hairdressers’ floor

Speaking at a conference on the future of the UK’s labour market on 18 April 2012, employment minister Chris Grayling took the opportunity to publicise the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Myth Busters Challenge Panel, and barely avoided launching a myth of his own. [...]
19 April 2012

A trio of titillating titbits from the world of employment law

What’s that I hear you say? Employment law is boring?! Read on, friend- there are just too many weird and wonderful things happening in the world of employment law that we simply had to share with you…[...]
18 April 2012

New panel to tackle 'ridiculous' safety rules

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has established a panel of “myth-busters” to examine ‘risk-averse’ or erroneous decisions by external bodies as another way of bringing “common sense” back to health & safety.[...]
16 April 2012

Lawful age discrimination: is cost alone a legitimate justification?

The Court of Appeal has recently delivered its judgment in the high profile employment case, Woodcock v. North Cumbria Primary Care Trust .[...]
10 April 2012

Protection from racist language

The case of Moxam v Visible Changes Ltd & anor , is a useful reminder that a Claimant need not be of any particular race or nationality to claim race discrimination.[...]
06 April 2012

Redundancy - carrying out a fair selection

The EAT has provided further useful guidance on the steps that an employer must take when considering potentially redundant employees for alternative positions within the business. [...]
03 April 2012

Completely bonkers safety monster bans conkers?

In January this year prime minister David Cameron promised to kill off Britain’s health and safety culture for good, branding it a "monster" which was hindering the country’s economic recovery.[...]
03 April 2012

Employment law changes - April 2012

It is that time of year again and we thought we thought it prudent to remind our readers of the changes coming into effect this Friday, 6 April 2012.[...]
27 March 2012

HSE criticises factory for putting profit above safety

A manufacturing company has been fined £18,000 for health and safety failings at its factory in Uxbridge.[...]
23 March 2012

Health & Safety Executive charging regime postponed

The HSE's 'Fees for Intervention' (FFI) scheme, under which it plans to recover its investigation costs from organisations it finds to be in breach of health and safety legislation, will not now come into effect in April, as originally planned.[...]
23 March 2012

Budget 2012 - impact on employment and health and safety law

The Government announced its annual budget on 21st March and restated many of its proposals for an overhaul of employment law.[...]
23 March 2012

Croikey! Aussie sues employers for racial slurs

An Australian council worker has quit his job and taken his former employers to court claiming that he was racially abused by co-workers because of his nationality.[...]
23 March 2012

Government “Call for Evidence” on compensated no-fault dismissals

As part of its strategy for overhauling employment laws, the Government has issued a consultation paper asking employers for their views on whether the law concerning dismissal should be changed.[...]