The Equality Act 2010 makes it against the law to discriminate against a person who has a protected characteristic. These characteristics include sex, religion, or age. Discrimination can occur anywhere but as HR consultants, we’re specifically talking about protected characteristics in the workplace. This blog explains the protected characteristics, how discrimination can occur, how employers can avoid discrimination, and how Metis HR can help you stay compliant. Protected Characteristics In The Workplace Formed to replace separate anti-discrimination laws with one easy to understand Act, The Equality Act 2010 provides people with legal protection against discrimination in the workplace and wider society. 9 protective characteristics are set out in the Equality Act 2010. These are: age disability gender reassignment marriage and civil partnership pregnancy and maternity race religion or belief sex sexual orientation Workplace Discrimination As mentioned, the Equality Act protects people at work as well as in society. Workplace discrimination disputes arise when an employer has acted unfairly towards an employee, or potential employee based on a protected characteristic. Discrimination isn’t always intentional, and employers can inadvertently discriminate against employees or potential employees. If this isn’t picked up until it is too late it can sever trust with employees, damage […]
We have been asked in the past who should pay National Minimum Wage? The answer, quite simply is everyone. Some employers think they are above the law when deciding what they will pay their employees. The National Minimum Wage applies to every employee in the UK regardless of the number of hours they do, what work they perform or even what age or nationality they are. Employees may make a claim against their employer any time with the tribunal service if they believe they are being underpaid the national standards. Those employers who have been questioned and fined by HMRC have come up with some great excuses, here are just a few: Unbelievable Excuses why Employers do not pay National Minimum Wage. The employee wasn’t a good worker so they didn’t deserve to be paid the National Minimum Wage. Offer a performance review meeting, do some training or discipline the employee for poor performance. Don’t under pay them. It’s part of UK culture not to pay young workers for the first three months as they have to prove themselves. No it is not. Although younger workers (under 25) are given a lower wage band, employers still have to adhere these […]
When is a warning not a warning? The simple answer is when it’s not carried out correctly. We get a surprising number of calls from employers who have reached the end of their tether. They’ve given an employee lots of verbal and written warnings with no improvement. Now they feel the need to remove the employee. It comes as a shock to them when we say, “that’s risky”. Let me give you an example of what I mean A business provides a facilities service to clients. They send teams of employees into a client premises, often out of hours. The intention is that the client will come into work the morning after and be delighted by the results. Over a 10 year period this had not always been the case when the business sent in one particular employee. His work was not always of a high standard. Over the ten year period the employer had given the employee a number of verbal and written warnings relating to his poor standard of work. One morning the Facilities business owner received an irate phone call from a client about the less than sparkling state of his premises after having paid for an overnight service. The […]
Managing employees with piercings can create uncertainty about what you are, or are not, allowed to do as an employer. Body piercing (other than ear lobes) is more prevalent in women than men and more common in younger age groups. 46% of women aged 16-24 have had a piercing (other than in their ear lobe). This suggests that most employers will have have to think about a dress code policy for piercings. Whilst it’s acceptable in law for employers with employees with piercings to ban piercings, there are some things to think about. Some employers may feel that visible, non-earlobe piercings are at odds with the image that they’re trying to project. Because if this they may ask employees with piercings to remove them whilst at work. It’s worth stopping and considering how many of your employees are actually having client contact if this is one of your reasons for objecting to piercings. In today’s informal society, there’s actually a great deal of evidence to show that the most successful dress code is, by and large, to encourage your customer-facing employees to dress more or less like your customers. This puts your customers as well as your employees at ease, and will […]
There has been a decision made by the European Appeal Tribunal Case Law about holiday pay and voluntary overtime that should make all employers sit up and listen. The law states contractual overtime, which is regular and recurring must be paid as holiday pay. This is for the first 20 days of an employee’s holiday entitlement and pay. However, the EAT states employees who voluntarily do regular and recurring overtime should also be. This rule only applies when they take the first 20 days of their annual holiday leave. Some legal eagles are recommending to ‘sit tight’ and wait for the EAT to decide what it considers to be “regular” and “recurring” voluntary overtime. But the Barrister representing the employees of the claim stated that these workers had worked 2 – 4 hours overtime every week. They also performed on call duties once every four weeks for most of their employment. The judge agreed the overtime was regular and recurring. He said that the workers relied on the extra money as part of their ‘normal pay’. The employee should not lose money in their pay just because they take a holiday. Even if this regular, voluntary overtime is not even mentioned in […]
Managing staff with mental health issues can be challenging. We all have physical and mental health, and in both cases, our health can vary on a daily basis. It is estimated that one in four people experience a mental health issue in any given year. One in six employees is depressed, anxious or suffering from stress-related problems at any time. This is not necessarily work-related! However, many of us know little about mental health. We often don’t spot the signs that a colleague, employee, or we ourselves are struggling. Therefore, this delays help and recovery. Last week Business in the Community (BiTC) released a Mental Health at Work report. Worryingly, the report uncovered the fact that over three-quarters of employees have experienced poor mental health. Almost half of workers would not talk to their manager about a mental health issue. Although employers are talking more about it, there appears to be not enough being done about it. There seems to be a difference in the perception of company bosses and the reality of employees when it comes to mental health. Most board members believe their organisation is supportive on the issue. But 56% of people who have disclosed a mental health issue at work […]
Halloween can be a fun time of the year, especially for employees in the workplace. Here’s a short guide on how to celebrate Halloween at work without causing offence. Sometimes though employers can be faced with challenging and sensitive issues. Here’s some tips on coming up with safe, clever and inoffensive ways to observe a classic children’s festivity in an adult setting. Halloween celebrations can range from those focused on employees’ children, like a trick-or-treat parade to those with a more grown-up flavour. Such as, employee fancy dress parties. The trick to successful Halloween celebrations at work is providing fun without alienating employees who find it offensive or frivolous. There’s no hiding from Halloween these days and employers may find it hard to ignore. It’s becoming big business in the UK as well as in the US. Halloween’s popularity in the workplace is growing, too. Some of you may ask, why celebrate it? Or how do my staff or myself benefit from something as apparently lighthearted as a Halloween party? In demanding workplaces, filled with high workloads and expectations, Halloween celebrations maybe a way to defuse tension. It can introduce fun into the workday and help reduce stress, build teams […]
Can I change an employee’s pay day? Most companies have set dates for payment of salaries and wages. Sometimes things change within a business to make you ask ‘can I change an employee’s pay day?’. Pay days are included in an employee’s contract at the start of their employment. So, changing the pay day becomes an issue, if making changes to an employee’s contractual terms and conditions. This means that when you are considering that thorny question ‘can I change an employee’s pay day?’. Any failure to approach this without getting an employee’s agreement can lead to claims for breach of contract or constructive dismissal . Where the employee resigns because of the change. The best defence is to not do anything until you have the agreement of the affected employees. You need to start by explaining to your employees why you need to change their pay day. And how you propose to make the changes. There are a number of things that you need to consider in your planning, which may initially cause your employees to resist. If you are moving from paying weekly to paying monthly, that’s a big change to the personal finances. Therefore, those affected may have to wait […]
Are there winners and losers in the Grievance process? Or is everybody a loser? ‘Just put a grievance in’, is a very common response by employees who are having difficulties with a situation at work. Especially, if it’s to do with a difficult working relationship. ‘Just put a grievance in’, shows a complete lack of understanding for what putting a grievance in, actually involves. By the time an employee gets to the point where they feel they have no option other than to ‘just put a grievance in’, it’s likely that they have had months of negative emotion about a situation. The situation will have likely kept them awake at night. Or been their sole topic of conversation at home and at work for some time. It will be distracting them from working as productively as the organisation would wish them to. And may even have resulted in them taking time off sick to avoid the situation. Resolving this situation is highly unlikely to have winners and losers in the Grievance Process. The employee’s grievance will most likely involve at least one other employee. The person that they are aggrieved against. That person may be oblivious to the situation and […]
There are 1.3 million people in the UK who use electronic cigarettes. For a long time now employers have been grappling with whether smoking electronic cigarettes at work should be treated the same or differently to smoking at work. Smoking in the workplace is banned, but that ban does not extend to smoking electronic cigarettes at work. A recent tribunal decision has helped clarify things a little. A Catering Assistant was seen by a Head Teacher to be using her electronic cigarette in full view of school pupils. The employee resigned and claimed constructive dismissal against her employer, the catering company, as they were facing a disciplinary hearing. However, the claim was not upheld. The tribunal made it clear that the school’s Smoking Policy would have been relevant in considering the case. The Policy banned smoking on school premises. However, it did not expressly prohibit smoking electronic cigarettes at work. If the Catering Assistant had been dismissed, she could have argued that she had been unfairly dismissed because the policy did not expressly prohibit smoking electronic cigarettes at work. The Effects The jury is still out on the health effects of smoking electronic cigarettes at work. Public Health England in 2014 […]
