Employment Law Matters

In this episode, you’ll learn: Why City law firm Vardags are on the cusp of having an unlawfully discriminatory dress code What the law says about dress codes Five top tips for introducing a dress code  CASES REFERRED TO Smith v Safeway plc [1996] IRLR 456 Department of Work and Pensions v Thompson UKEAT/0254/03  🎁 FREE STUFF Employment law updates – www.danielbarnett.com         My YouTube chann...

Are employees always entitled to the four week trial period in redundancy alternative work situations? The four-week trial period that operates when an employee is offered alternative work in a redundancy exercise is well-known. But it is also widely misunderstood. The reality is that in most cases where an employee at risk of redundancy is offered alternative work, the trial period will not apply...

In episode 72 of Employment Law Matters, you’ll learn about the differences between a wrongful dismissal and an unfair dismissal claim.   It is a quirk of UK employment law that there are two separate and distinct claims that can be brought (leaving aside any issue of discrimination) in challenging a dismissal.  Unfair dismissal is a claim created by statute — currently found in Part X of the Empl...

In this episode, I discuss monitoring employees' activities.  It's an extract from this month's audio seminar for members of the HR Inner Circle, the UK's leading membership club for smart, ambitious HR Professionals. 🎁 FREE STUFF Employment law updates – www.danielbarnett.com         My YouTube channel - www.youtubelegal.co.uk Ask a question - www.danielbarnett.com/podcastque...

In episode 70 of Employment Law Matters, you’ll learn what the new Information Commissioner’s Office Guidance says about:- 1) What amounts to a ‘manifestly excessive’ SAR? 2) What is a ‘reasonable fee’ for complying with a manifestly excessive or unfounded SAR? 3) Stopping the clock when clarification of the SAR is required. Find the Guidance at   https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data...

The Restriction of Public Sector Exit Payment Regulations 2020 aim to prevent public bodies from making excessive payouts to departing employees. They cap the amount of an exit payment at £95,000. That sounds like a generous enough redundancy package, but things are as ever a little more complicated than that. To discuss the detail I’m joined by employment lawyer and commentator Darren Newman who...

One particularly fraught question in dealing with TUPE transfers is the extent to which employers and employees can agree to change the terms and conditions of a transferring employee. Cases referred to: The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, reg 4(4) Foreningen af Arbejdsledere i Danmark v Daddy's Dance Hall A/S Regent Security Services Ltd v Power Ferguson...

Employers are increasingly adapting to recognise the effects that the menopause can have on women and their working lives. It is more important now than ever with older workers expected to stay in work for longer. The menopause is a deeply personal issue, and it is unsurprising that many people prefer not to talk about it. But the landscape is changing. There are more available resources to encour...

When can, and can’t, you dismiss an employee for social media misuse?  In this episode, barrister Daniel Barnett discusses this topic briefly with Professor Virginia Mantouvalou , Professor of Human Rights & Labour Law at UCL Faculty of Laws.    He then explains the law on social media and dismissals, giving examples of various cases where dismissals have been held to be fair and unfair. 🎁 FR...

London Central employment tribunal announces a member has staff has tested positive for Covid-19. The President of Employment Tribunals (England & Wales), Judge Barry Clarke, issues three new guidance documents. First is the Presidential Practice Direction on the use of the Welsh Language . This reminds tribunals in Wales than any witness or participant who wishes to use Welsh rather than Engl...

In this short extract from Daniel Barnett’s new book on Constructive Dismissal , you’ll learn whether a dismissal process can be a ‘last straw’ to enable an employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal. 🎁 FREE STUFF Employment law updates – www.danielbarnett.com         My YouTube channel - www.youtubelegal.co.uk Ask a question - www.danielbarnett.com/podcastquestion 💎 PRODUCTS, MEMBERSHI...

If an employee is dismissed without any procedure being followed , as a result of breakdown in relations between her and her manager, you'd expect that to be an unfair dismissal - right? In Linda Gallacher v Abellio Scotrail Limited the Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld a tribunal's decision that it was, in the unusual circumstances of the case, a fair dismissal. Listen to this episode t...

Age discrimination is probably the protected characteristic which gets the least press, yet it’s the one we all share.  In this episode, you’ll learn about:- The different types of age discrimination Justifying age discrimination The main exceptions to the laws against age discrimination Three years ago, I organised and led a closed-doors conference on How to Market and Boost your Employment Law B...

In this, the second of two consecutive episodes, Daniel Barnett of Outer Temple Chambers and Emma Erskine-Fox of TLT Solicitors (@emmafoxlaw) discuss the GDPR, two years after it came into force. In this second part, you’ll learn: things employers need to search for definiting the search parameters dealing with requests for common names or initials redaction answers to ten questions tweeted in bef...

In this, the first of two episodes, Daniel Barnett of Outer Temple Chambers and Emma Erskine-Fox of TLT Solicitors (@emmafoxlaw) discuss the GDPR, two years after it came into force. In this first part, you’ll learn: the difference between the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 what sort of prosecutions and fines have been issued in the last two years how long HR Professionals have to keep reco...

More and more people in the UK are turning to part-time work. Employees working part time benefit from balancing work and personal commitments. But what does part-time work actually entail, and why should employers embark on implementing part-time working? In this episode, you’ll learn: What rights a part-time worker has  What amounts to less favourable treatment  Tips for implementing part-time w...

In this episode, Daniel Barnett explains why he’s doing unconscious bias training Everyone has biases and we can't get rid of them. So this is not about being in the wrong. On the training session, Selwyn Blyth will raise your awareness of the (unintentional) impact of bias - and offer practical suggestions for how to minimise the negative impact at work.  A lot of the learning comes from wat...

If you like this podcast, please send out this tweet – it helps grow the podcast and encourages us to keep going. In this episode, Daniel Barnett discusses three recent unfair dismissal cases:- 1.   Harrison v Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust : suspension should not take place as a kneejerk reaction 2.    Lafferty v Nuffield Health   - whether you can dismiss an employee who has been char...

Are employers defrauding the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme scheme, by claiming money back from HMRC for furloughed employees who are still working?  You’ll hear:  the extent of the problem how HMRC is likely to discover fraud what HMRC will do to reclaim the money Report fraud to HM Revenue & Customs - https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/shortforms/form/TEH_IRF?_ga=2.59277803.772004417.159246488...

What do you get when you record a verbal warning in writing?  A paradox, that’s what!  In this light-hearted episode, Daniel Barnett reveals the things that really annoy him, and shares the result of his Twitter Poll on who even uses them any more. 🎁 FREE STUFF Employment law updates – www.danielbarnett.com         My YouTube channel - www.youtubelegal.co.uk Ask a question - www.danielbarnett.com...

What can employers do to help the workforce develop resilience and cope with anxiety in the workplace arising from Covid-19.  Dr Kerry Davison from Psychology Associates joins Daniel Barnett to discuss:-  why mental health is so important in the workplace right now how Covid-19 will have far-reaching implications how different people react differently top tips on what employers can do to help empl...

Do you think your employees will want to work permanently from home in the future? This episode of Employment Law Matters is an exert from a recent audio seminar Daniel Barnett gave on homeworking, covering some of the preparations.  In it, Daniel discussed: where and when the employee will be working trial periods furniture and equipment pay and benefits tax policies monitoring   🎁 FREE STUFF Em...

Are you introducing new policies or changing terms and conditions? Are you having difficulty getting an employee’s agreement to detrimental contractual changes? Daniel Barnett has just published a book on Changing Terms and Conditions, which is sent free to all members of HR Inner Circle or to anybody who orders HR Policies and Contracts ( www.policies2020.com ) Daniel reads a chapter of Changing...

As the resident legal expert on LBC Radio, Daniel Barnett can be heard often answering questions on employment law and more general legal issues.  This is a recording of a Q&A session on the Nick Ferrari Breakfast Show, broadcast live on 13 May 2020, the day before the Nick Ferrari's show won RAJAR accreditation as the most popular commercial radio breakfast show in the UK. Thank you for...

Join Daniel Barnett and Jeremy Scott-Joynt discussing how to get investigations right.  They cover:- are investigations really that difficult?  do you really need one? what kind of risks are there if an investigation goes wrong?  and end up playing 'top tips' ping-pong. LINKS: List of Independent HR Investigators Employee Investigations by Daniel Barnett (Kindle Store) About Jeremy Scott...