A survey conducted by the BMA Scotland has found many hospital doctors are too scared to raise concerns about patient care or staff behaviour in case it harms their career....
After both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats stated in their manifestos that they planned to abolish the Default Retirement Age (DRA), the new Coalition Government yesterday declared that it will be "phased out". The Coalition Agreement does not set in detail exactly how this would happen, merely stating that they will "hold a review to set the date at which the state pension age starts to rise to 66, although it will not be sooner than 2016 for men and 2020 for women....
A study of published online in the European Heart Journal has found that people regularly working 10 or 11-hour days increase their heart disease risk by nearly two-thirds....
Research commissioned by the charity, Business in the Community (BITC), of FTSE 100 employers has identified enhanced financial performance for companies that strategically manage their employees` health and wellbeing. The research highlights the business benefits for employers who take a proactive approach to the prevention of illness and promotion of health and wellbeing in their work places. These benefits range from higher employee engagement, reduced absence and attrition rates, higher productivity, better retention and recruitment, as well as reputational benefits for the company and enhanced brand image....
The world cup is fast approaching and with it comes the inevitable sickies. So how should employers deal with it?...
The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 53,000 to 2.51 million during the three months to March, official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have today reported. This puts the UK unemployment rate at 8%, the highest level since December 1994....
For years employers have had to contend with vague and often illegible sick notes from GPs saying that their employee is suffering from "stress" or "neck pain". The employee was often signed off for 2 or 3 weeks and there was very little an employer could do about it. All this has changed with the introduction of the Statement of Fitness for Work, or "fit notes", introduced on 6 April 2010....
A study out today states that stress at work raises the risk of heart disease for women under 50. The British Heart Foundation encourages employees and employers alike to tackle stress in the workplace....
Kashif Tariq, was described as his barrister as a "professional" civil servant "who is highly regarded by his peers and supervisors and who has an impeccable employment record". Yet he was suspended by his employer, the Home Office, not because of any suspected wrongdoing on his part per se, but because he is the cousin of Tanvir Hussain, who was found guilty of plotting to blow up trans-Atlantic airlines....
In Martin and others v Professional Game Match Officials Ltd, an employment tribunal has found that a policy of retiring football assistant referees at age 48 constitutes direct age discrimination that cannot be justified. Age discrimination is unique amongst other forms of discrimination because direct age discrimination is permitted if it can be justified....
Duncan Holley, a secretary of a branch of Unite, alleges that he was summarily dismissed by BA because he took time off work before Christmas to carry out union duties....
In Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust v Westwood the EAT has held that even where an employer`s disciplinary policy provides that certain conduct is gross misconduct, dismissal for such conduct is not always fair....
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in Samuel Smith Old Brewery (Tadcaster) v Marshall and another EAT/0488/09 that it will only be in rare circumstances that it is unfair to dismiss an employee after a disciplinary hearing prior to holding a related grievance appeal hearing....
The Relate counsellor who was dismissed for refusing to give sex therapy to gay couples has today been refused permission to appeal the decision of the EAT which held that his dismissal was neither religious discrimination nor unfair....
It has been established in the case of Goode v Marks & Spencer that an expression of an employer`s opinion about a proposal, after consultation, does not amount to a qualifying disclosure....
ACAS provides guidance on disciplinary and grievance procedures, which can be found on their website www.acas.org.uk However, what happens when the two procedures run in tandem with each other? Is an employer to conclude one procedure before making a decision on the other?...
Lots of people are currently enjoying an extended holiday thanks to the effect volcanic ash has had on flights in and out of the country. However, the problem raises various issues for employers regarding holiday and pay....
Following on from yesterdays blog, the Liberal Democrats have now set out their 2010 election manifesto....
Over the past two days, the Labour Party and the Conservative Party have published their manifestos, containing the pledges they promise to make if their party is voted into power following the genral election on 6 May 2010....
Only 22% of employers believe that the introduction of Statements of Fitness for Work, commonly known as "Fit Notes", will reduce levels of absence in their workplace. This was the finding of a survey of 1,400 private and public sector employers conducted by Kronos, the workforce management consultancy....