Gearing up to Dismissal

Last week marked yet another media circus surrounding Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who was suspended following reports that he’d hit producer Oisin Tymon after a day’s filming in North Yorkshire. The BBC launched an internal investigation into the ‘fracas’ on Monday but the findings are still pending.

Whatever the result, it’s vital that Clarkson is dealt with in accordance with the ACAS Code to make sure that the Beeb don’t end up with more than a Red Nose on their faces. 

The ACAS Code

The ACAS Code was designed to put in place clear guidance for both employees and employers when a disciplinary or grievance issue raises its ugly head. It’s user friendly and an easy read – not like most employment legislation.More...

Absenteeism in the workplace can be a difficult issue to negotiate. Treat it too lightly and you risk being taken advantage of, but putting undue pressure on an employee to return to work could result in a damaged working relationship or worse.

Whilst to your employees ‘pulling a sickie’ may seem harmless, the cumulative costs of absenteeism in the workplace is staggering. In fact, the estimated cost to the British economy of absenteeism is £14 billion a year, according to a recent joint report from Pfizer & the Confederation of British Industry.

Unfortunately, closer to home, it seems that workplace illness is a growing problem. Last week we heard that at Neath Port Talbot County Council, sickness targets are not being met. Head of Corporate Strategy and Democratic Services, Karen Jones, confirmed that levels of absenteeism at the Local Authority had increased by 1.2% over the past year.

What Can Be Done to Reduce the Negative Impact of Absenteeism?

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Times are tough enough in today’s economic climate without facing concerns about your current employment. From unfair dismissals to bullying and harassment at work, the issues surrounding employment can be extremely complex. Standing up to your employer can often seem daunting, confusing and ultimately futile, but this shouldn’t be the case.

A Guide to Employment Law

At Howells Solicitors we want to ensure that employers and employees alike feel confident in pursuing a fair outcome in any situation involving employment law. It’s for this reason that we created this video guide to offer basic advice on common legal issues surrounding employment.

In this short feature, we disucss the various actions employees can take if they feel they have been treated unfairly in the workplace.

The video covers issues such as:More...

It isn’t uncommon for people to announce their every thought, feeling and emotion over social media. You may post statuses about how you dread going to work on Monday morning to how you may have had one tipple too many on Saturday night to the resulting negative impacts about said tipple.

Typically, these posts are full of explicit language and very colourful images. This may not be a bad thing among your friends, but how would you feel if a potential employer saw this?

Social Media vs. Recruitment

According to many reports, in recent years more and more employers will look at would-be employee’s social media profiles in their recruitment processes. Employers want to make sure that they are hiring the right people, and this means conducting their own research via social media.

A recent study by ACAS found that 45% of employers already conduct social media research as part of their recruitment process, while a further 40% claimed that they would make more use of it in the future. More...

As of the 1st December 2014 there have been changes to the law regarding shared parental leave – changes that also apply to those adopting a child. This modification allows parents to split the maternity/ paternity leave over 52 weeks.

Previously, fathers were able to take over leave from the mother after the baby is 20 weeks old. This has now changed as the mothers can give any unused maternity allowance to their partner as soon as compulsory leave has finished – this currently stands at two weeks.

What does this mean for employers?

These changes won’t have a large impact on most employers due to the fact that the time span hasn’t been massively changed. The biggest impact will be that employers will need to understand the new regulations and amend their procedures to take account of the changes. More...