Managing an ill health situation where an employee says they are too ill to talk, or attend meetings requires a careful and considered approach from managers and HR teams. Suzanne…

Can an employer dismiss an employee for capability reasons when they are contractually entitled to long term disability benefits? No, not fairly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has said in Awan v ICTS.

Tim Cross talks the ways in which employer can reduce employment tribunal awards.

The law of disability discrimination is regularly challenged. In Lamb v The Garrard Academy, the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at when constructive knowledge of a disability will arise in practice. The employer in this case had not had confirmation that the employee’s condition would amount to a disability. However, the EAT held that the employer was in possession of facts which should have led them to ask more questions. Had they referred Ms Lamb to OH, it would have been confirmed that her condition was a disability. As a result, the employer was deemed to have constructive knowledge. This case demonstrates that failure to ask obvious questions and/or seek medical advice will not enable an employer to plead ignorance or avoid obligations in relation to disabled employees.

Lots of value can come from introducing the right HR policies into a business at the right time. Organisations who ‘get it right’ in terms of the tone, culture and…

In Ibrahim v HCA, the employer challenged a whistleblowing claim on the grounds that the disclosure did not meet the public interest test and the EAT agreed that the employee had not fulfilled that aspect of the test. Although, it is worth remembering that seemingly ‘personal’ disclosures have been held to be in the public interest so employers should proceed with caution when considering disclosures that could be protected.

If you are considering a policy revamp, Yvonne Saxon, Vista’s Head of HR takes us through the important things to consider.

The case of Spaceman v ISS Mediclean also looked at the employer’s reasoning in relation to a dismissal.

In this case it was a short service dismissal, where the reason can be key as it will determine what if any claims the employee has the right to bring. Mr Spaceman claimed that he had been dismissed because he had asserted a statutory right (an automatically unfair reason for dismissal). However, the EAT did not agree and his claim failed on the grounds he had complained to his employer about something he believed they were going to do rather than something they had done. This could not amount to a breach of a statutory right as it had not yet happened.

Many of you have told us that harmonising hr policies is on your list for the coming year, so we thought you might be interested in what we think are…

Article 5 of the GDPR states that personal data shall be kept no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is being processed. Understandably many HR teams…