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This week our question relates to the statutory default retirement age (DRA) The DRA allowed employers to give either six or 12 months’ notice to employees approaching the age of 65 to retire. Sadly, for employers, the DRA died a death in October 2011. There was a transitional period to 6 April 2…
Read moreFixed term contracts - what are an employee’s rights? Fixed term contracts are deceiving by their very nature. The vast majority of employers believe that an employee employed on a ‘fixed term’ absolves them of any liability at the point which the contract ends. Unfortunately, this is not the cas…
Read moreIs redundancy okay if an employee’s work has diminished? February is a particularly busy time for the HR advice line at Quest and redundancy has reared its head. This week’s question is following a general theme that is running throughout this month. Question of the week Our client asked whether…
Read moreWatch out for discrimination with salary levels The practice of paying employees less than the salary levels of other colleagues is a contractual provision that requires great care on the part of employers. Especially those who carry out the same or broadly similar functions. Job evaluation exerci…
Read moreThe trend of employee absences As we approach the end of January, the month of post-Christmas blues, the trend that seems to be picked up over the advice line is of employee absences. More particularly, absences without leave (AWOL). Consequently employers are calling in seeking advice on how to m…
Read moreHealth & safety statistics are just boring…aren’t they? Well that depends on what you see in health & safety statistics. They’re just silly percentages that mean nothing to most people! They don’t represent my workplace at all and I never take any notice of them. So when the HSE publish th…
Read moreDo you know the rationale behind the “Fit for Work” initiative? Fit for Work is free and helps employees stay in or return to work but first a little background. Employee absence is an ongoing management issue for virtually every organisation. According to a survey carried out by the Chartered Ins…
Read moreFive tips for managing time off at Christmas Managing time off at Christmas for staff can be tricky in a small business or team. With only a small number of people, covering holidays is more difficult. However, employees often want to take their holidays in the same week, particularly over Christma…
Read moreGas safety - when did you last have yours checked? Gas safety is paramount and therefore should be checked at least annually. However, not everyone adheres to this and consequently the last five years has seen an increase in house fires. This is occurring in houses with gas appliances and happens…
Read moreDrivers causing death by dangerous driving could be sentenced to life The Ministry of Justice have this week published a consultation document relating to penalties caused by dangerous driving. It states that those who speed, street race or drive whilst using a mobile phone, should face the same se…
Read moreDoes your corporate gift fall within the Bribery Act? The Bribery Act 2010 received its Royal Assent on 8 April 2010 but this is the time of year when it comes to the fore. December, generally sees the giving and receiving of corporate gifts as a regular occurrence in many businesses. Historically…
Read moreVulnerable groups and safer recruitment considerations for employers Cases of unsuitable people working with vulnerable groups, including children are coming to light more and more. For instance, the recent revelations in the world of football concerning historical child abuse allegations have bee…
Read moreIncreases announced for the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage A decision has been taken to introduce changes to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates from 1 April 2017 to coincide with the National Living Wage (NLW) rate which was introduced earlier this year. Thereafter, rate cha…
Read moreHR gets real and moves to the fore Being involved with HR for many years has certain advantages, like, a level of confidence that comes with growing competence. This comes from exposure to multiple situations. But the real advantage of advancing years in human resource is understanding what a busin…
Read moreWhat is Gig economy? Gig economy is a phrase that has been alien to the UK until recently. Our American cousins have sent this over to us leaving many of us confused to its interpretation. Essentially since the recession, the UK has been leaning towards a more flexible workforce model. That is, mo…
Read moreTime off work – What are the statutory rights? Your employees may need time off work if or when they deal with an emergency. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) implemented a law for this. It affords employees certain statutory rights when they require time off work. However, this is in the cas…
Read moreUber drivers are not self-employed Uber drivers are not self-employed, it was decided at the London Central Employment Tribunal where higher levels of publicity than usual were received. This was due to the high profile nature of the companies involved. The taxi firm, Uber, has been defending its…
Read more5 Step Fire Door Check that anyone can do: A fire door is the difference between life and death. A suitably fitted fire door with the correct applications can separate a room and withstand a fire for a sufficient amount of time. Thus allow people to escape from a building. However, where there ar…
Read moreTUPE transfer definition explained The question of whether or not there has been a TUPE transfer is the subject of a large number of the employment advice calls at Quest. The legal framework that forms the basis of advice on this issue incorporates the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employ…
Read moreSafety management systems - lessons learnt from Alton Towers Safety management systems in place at work are not going to work if they are not regularly reviewed and effectively managed. Their success depends on the attitudes of those people in the organisation. This is sometimes known as the ‘saf…
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