Can employees on sick leave carry forward holiday and for how long?

In this episode of the podcast I tell you about a recent case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal where an employee who was dismissed after almost 4 years on sick leave made a claim for accrued but not taken holiday for the previous 4 years. The case is Plumb v Duncan Print Group Limited.

In this episode you will learn

• When an employee on sick leave accrues holiday
• The circumstances in which an employee on sick leave can carry over holiday to a new leave year
• How long an employee on sick leave can carry over holiday
• What you should be aware of regarding holiday and sickness absence
• What you can do to minimise issues
• When you should seek advice for your business

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about ensuring that you can recover the costs of paying for external training or qualifications for your employees in the event that they leave your employment and take their skills elsewhere.

It is important that you have a relevant agreement in place with your employee to enable you to recover the training costs and that the agreement is in accordance with current legal guidance otherwise it will not be enforceable.

Podcast references

To read the full Employment Appeal Tribunal judgement in the case of  click here

New Media Europe Conference - 12th - 13th September 2015 at The Midland Hotel, Manchester  - If you are interested in attending you can get £100 off the ticket price by clicking here and using the code REAL.

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When can you dismiss an employee for failure to disclose misconduct in other employment?

In this episode of the podcast I tell you about a recent case in the Employment Appeal Tribunal where an employee was dismissed for failure to disclose misconduct after his employer found out about an allegation of misconduct in his other part-time job. The case is The Basildon Academies v Amadi.

In this episode you will learn

• When an employee is obliged to disclose their own misconduct
• Why it was unfair to dismiss an employee who failed to disclose allegations of misconduct
• What the employer in this case could have done differently to justify a fair dismissal
• What you can do to ensure your employees must disclose
• When you should seek advice for your business

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about ensuring that your employment contracts are fit for purpose and the needs of your business. The featured case serves as a reminder that inadequate contracts can be costly for employers.

In particular with many regular changes to the law it is important to review at least annually. For example there has been a recent change to the use of zero hour contracts which makes it unlawful to include an exclusivity clause in a zero hour contract.

When is a Whistleblower protected from Dismissal & Detriment?

In this episode of the podcast I tell you about a recent case in the Employment Tribunal where an employee resigned in response to his concerns not being taken seriously by his employer and where he alleged he had received detrimental treatment. The case is Newman v Riverside Building Supplies.

In this episode you will learn

• What constitutes a protected disclosure for whistleblowing protection
• When a disclosure is in the public interest
• Why you should take employee concerns seriously
• When you should seek advice

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about ensuring managers and supervisors are aware of the limits of their authority to dismiss and discipline employees.

Podcast references

Nurmohamed v Chesterton Global Limited (Trading as Chestertons)

In this episode of the podcast I bring you details of a recent case decided by the Employment Appeal Tribunal about unfair dismissal and the process of dismissal. The appeal in this case involved various questions, importantly including whether or not a disciplinary process should be suspended whilst a related grievance is investigated.

In this episode you will learn

• Whether a disciplinary procedure should be suspended pending a grievance outcome
• About the best practice for disciplinary procedures
• Why a delay in this case between decision and appeal led to a confusion of the issues
• When you should seek advice

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about dealing with disciplinary appeals and procedures, and I recommend that, where possible, you have a senior member of staff who is not involved in the investigation or early stages of the disciplinary.

In this episode of the podcast I bring the focus back to constructive unfair dismissal and what employer's should do if they are faced with a resignation from an employee in a situation where there is a risk of a claim for constructive unfair dismissal.

In this episode you will learn

• What constructive unfair dismissal is and when a claim can arise
• Whether you can refuse to accept an employee's notice
• What you can do to prevent a claim
• How you can mitigate the situation and reduce compensation risk
• When you should seek advice

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about dealing with situations swiftly to prevent escalation to a claim and ensuring your managers are able to identify likely disputes and issues.

An employee's right to be accompanied at a disciplinary and grievance meeting

In this episode of the podcast I tell you about a recent change to the ACAS code of practice on disciplinary and grievances which has been brought about by a decision of the employment appeal tribunal on the question of whether or not an employer can refuse to allow the employee's particular choice of companion.

In this episode you will learn

• What the Employment Appeal Tribunal said about the legal right to be accompanied
• What changes this made to the ACAS Code of Practice
• What it could cost an employer who refuses to allow an employee to be accompanied
• Who the employee can be accompanied by
• What an employer's options are with exercising their discretion over who can accompany an employee
• When it may be a reasonable adjustment to allow an employee to be accompanied by someone other than required by law
• When you should seek advice

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about checking your employee or staff handbook to ensure any terms which are 'contractual' are clear and not likely to cause difficulty in the event that a dispute arises in the future.

Can an employer make changes to employment contracts without consent?

In this episode of the podcast I bring you a recent case dealing with changes to employment contracts as well as an overview of an employer's options if an employee refuses to agree to the changes.

In this episode you will learn

• When changes can be made without risk of breach of contract
• What the options are if an employee refuses changes to employment contracts
• Why the Employment Tribunals are reluctant to give employers wide discretion to make changes
• Why you should have a general variation clause in your employment contracts
• When to have a specific variation clause

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is about a service that I can provide to you to make your life much easier.

Constructive Dismissal

In this episode of the podcast I bring you an overview of the law regarding Constructive Unfair Dismissal as set out in the Employment Rights Act 1996.

In this episode you will learn

• What the difference is between Unfair Dismissal and Constructive Unfair Dismissal
• Why it is important to distinguish between the two types of unfair dismissal claims
• What the three things are that an employee will need to show to successfully claim constructive unfair dismissal
• How the Tribunal decide these claims
• What you should be aware of
• I also give you some examples of real cases that have been decided by the Employment Tribunal

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week is a simple one, essentially do not delay unnecessarily when it comes to employee issues.

Employer questions answered

In this episode of the podcast the format is a bit different as I was recently invited to be a guest on the Business Insight show on my local community radio, Vectis Radio and during the show I answered a number of listener employer questions from business owners. Thanks to the generosity of Vectis Radio, Darren Fernando and Dale Howarth I have been able to share the audio from the show on this episode of the podcast.

The questions answered in this episode include….

• How to deal with the new Shared Parental Leave regulations.
• How to keep up to date with employment law as a small business.
• How to address a customer complaint about a staff member in a small team.
• What to do about an employee on maternity leave who probably won't return to work.
• What to do about auto enrolment and the new pension scheme.

How do you deal with staff who 'Vape' at work

In this episode of the Podcast I give you a summary of a recent Employment Tribunal case within which the issue of the use of e-cigarettes at work resulted in an employee facing disciplinary action and resigning from her employment. In this case the employee Ms Insley was seen using an e-cigarette at work. She was a catering assistant at a secondary school. When the Headmaster reported the matter to her employer, Accent Catering, they started disciplinary proceedings, stating that it could be gross misconduct.

Ms Insley resigned and claimed constructive unfair dismissal in the Employment Tribunal.

Particularly you will learn….

• What the current law is regarding e-cigarettes.
• The points to consider when looking at staff use of e-cigarettes at work. 
• Why you should review your smoking policy and notify staff of the changes fairly urgently.
• What the decision means for your business.
• Why Ms Insley perhaps would have been better to wait for decision from her employer before resigning.

HR Best Practice Tip

The HR tip of the week follows several issues that have been raised by my clients about managing poor performance of staff and the uncomfortable feeling of doing this.