Truly I can see the future. A few weeks ago I wrote on this blog about a website run by Gordon Turner and Damien McCarthy, the two employment lawyers who set up www.serial-litigants.com, designed to keep a check on those claimants who repeatedly bring claims against different employers (or potential employers) for the same thing – usually discrimination claims. I welcomed the scheme but thought that it might hit problems with the Data Protection Act, which governs what information can be held on people and how it can be used. Then, lo and behold, I received this email from Gordon Turner a few days ago;
Everyone is talking about social media these days and no longer is it confined to the purely social. Many businesses are using it to promote themselves; good heavens, even lawyers are getting into it. But use of sites like Facebook, My Space, You Tube and micro-blogging sites like Twitter present multiple challenges to employers.
There have been some interesting reported cases over the last couple of weeks on a broad range of topics. For instance,
Legal Representation at Internal Disciplinary Hearings
Yesterday Ian Barratt of Mind Strengths Ltd published his “Seven Top Stress Management Tips for Employees”. Today I am publishing my “top tips” for employers hoping to avoid claims for stress at work from being commenced against them.
This is a preview of
Seven Ways for Employers to Avoid Stress at Work Claims
.
Read the full post (1140 words, 2 images, estimated 4:34 mins reading time)
Age Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment, Contracts of Employment, Equality, Personal Injury, Race Discrimination, Religion and Belief Discrimination, constructive dismissal, disability discrimination, stress at work
ACAS, bullying, constructive dismissal, discrimination, harassment, how do I cope with stress, HSA, HSE, Ian Barratt, Management Standards, MHSW, Mind Strengths, Personal Injury, Protection from Harassment Act 1997, stress at work, stress+management, TUC, victimisation
As promised last Monday, I am delighted today to welcome my first guest blogger, Ian Barratt (pictured, right) of Mind Strengths Ltd, to present his Seven Top Stress Management Tips on this third Monday of January, the allegedly most miserable day of the year. Ian is a qualified stress management consultant speaker and author. His book “The Phoenix Strategy”, co-authored with Amanda Robinson was published last October. Mind Strengths Ltd is a consultancy company offering workplace strress management , wellbeing and support services. Tomorrow I will look at how employers can minimise the risk of being sued for stress at work by employees.
Age Discrimination, Bullying & Harassment, Contracts of Employment, Equality, Personal Injury, Race Discrimination, Religion and Belief Discrimination, constructive dismissal, stress at work, unfair dismissal
constructive dismissal, discrimination, employees, how do I cope with stress, Ian Barratt, Mind Strengths, Miserable Monday, occupational illness, Personal Injury, Protection from Harassment Act 1997, stress at work, stress+management
Over on the Dale Langley & Co website I have written about the recently reported case of age discrimination by Achim Beck at his former employer, CIBC. Click here for the post. The case was reported on Times Online on the 29th December. Although Mr Beck has succeeded with his claim, the Employment Tribunal has not yet made an award of compensation and a “remedies hearing” for that purpose is awaited in due course, unless it settles beforehand. I’ll keep an eye out for what could be a big award.
Permanent link to this post (92 words, 1 image, estimated 22 secs reading time)
I saw in this the Financial Times on Saturday; marvellous.
Permanent link to this post (13 words, 1 image, estimated 3 secs reading time)
I don't like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
So, it’s Monday again. It always seems to be Monday and they never seem to get any better. The Boomtown Rats didn’t like them, still less Brenda Spencer the 16 year old girl whose 1979 shooting spree in San Diego and subsequent blunt explanation inspired their song. Even if most people aren’t drawn to actually shooting their fellow workers, the third Monday in January is the worst, bleakest, most depressing day of the year. This is supposedly because Christmas is a distant memory, the credit card bills need paying, the weather is awful and the next holiday is months away. See this article from Mail Online last year for the full horror story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-509367/Its-miserable-Monday-How-think-positive-bleakest-day-year.html
Wot, no snowman?
I’m not referring to the five inches of snow outside as I write this, and the inevitable disruption caused to roads and railways for the next week, but instead I am considering what the main statutory changes affecting employment law issues in 2010 will be.
January
Not much will happen this month while everyone looks in astonishment at their credit card bills, but just a reminder that the Vento guidelines on awards to be made in cases of injury to feelings in discrimination cases look to have been increased late last year in the case of Da’Bell v NSPCC. The Court of Appeal case in Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police in 2002 set three main bands for ETs to consider when making awards for injury to feelings;
UK LAWYERS
Blog of blogs
By supporting each other we raise the profile of us all
Edition No.1
This is the first edition of the UK Lawyers Blog of Blogs and has nothing to do with the esteemed Blawg Review from across the pond. Originally I planned to produce this blog carnival for the end of October, but got rather busy at work and home and the timescale slipped somewhat. So, what was planned to be an Autumn review of the blogging scene has become a New Year review instead. That’s no bad thing because the Christmas period has brought out some cracking posts and I finally have the time to do some serious blogging. Unfortunately, sitting in front of the laptop isn’t helping my Resolution to lose weight by becoming more active and only increases my calory intake. Like Oscar Wilde, I can resist anything but temptation and there’s always room for one more mince pie, after that last turkey sandwich, when doing some serious surfing of the UK legal scene. Reader, how I have suffered researching and writing this.
UKBlawgRoundUp
blawg review, Bloody Relations, Brian Inkster, Charon QC, Chris Sherliker, Clutton Cox, Delia Venables, Francis Davey, Head of Legal, John Bolch, Jon Bloor, Justin Patten, Naked Law, Nearly Legal, Paul Hajek, tessa shepperson, UK Lawyers Blog of Blogs, Usefully Employed, William Flack
Comments (1) 
