Some employees who have worked for their employer continuously for at least 26 weeks have a legal right (S63D Employment Rights Act 1996) to request time off (usually unpaid) to study, if it will help to improve their contribution to their employer’s business and provided there are at least 250 people working in their organisation.…

The Equality Act 2010 is legislation to stop all forms of discrimination and yet, despite this, there is still a gender pay gap in the UK – a large gap between the hourly pay received by men and women who do the same job. In fact section 78 of the Equality Act has meant that,…

Irrespective of whether or not they are under any medical supervision, any person who wishes to take any steps to change their gender (gender reassignment) is protected by the Equality Act 2010 which  means that they can not be subjected to any form of discrimination including: Direct discrimination – when a person is treated differently…

As we reported some time ago (see here) the case of Metroline West Ltd v Ajaj UKEAT/0185/15/RN involved bus driver Mr Ajaj and his employers who were concerned about the “genuineness of the nature and extent” of injuries that led to Mr Ajaj being off work. In reality, there have probably been times when we…

GP practices, along with other types of business, need to ensure they meet the minimum legal requirements and comply with sector specific standards with regard to employees’ terms and conditions of employment and, more widely, HR policies and procedures. However, this doesn’t mean having a policy for everything, as this only creates unnecessary bureaucracy and…

Health and Safety legislation imposes a number of duties on employers when providing equipment for employees. This is true whether it’s the “usual” type of equipment you would see in any office or practice or something more specialist, like an orthopaedic chair. Let’s start by examining those duties: Legal duties (1) Basic Duty Section 2…

Fans of The Apprentice take note: Pointy finger accompanied by the pronouncement “You’re fired!” is purely for entertainment purposes.  Try that in real life and, as we all know, you’ll very quickly receive notice of unfair dismissal proceedings (where an employee is entitled to bring them) because, although you may think you’ve acted justifiably under…