According to this article in Newstrack India there is a growing trend in the USA for employers to ask new potential new recruits in job interviews for their Facebook log-in details. It may well not be illegal to make the request (although it may breach Facebook’s rules) but why on earth would an employer want to access an employee’s private Facebook account? The information revealed could well prove to be a poisoned chalice.
Mate, don't drink it.
Ever wondered how, as an employer, you should treat your office workers? Here is an amusing infografic from training agency Tutorcare that puts it into pictures for you. I have my doubts about what is going on in the picture about fire safety – could be a grievance for sexual harassment waiting to happen – but maybe I’m being harsh.
Thanks to Gareth of TutorCare for sending me this infografic
Choices, choices
Many employees often suspect they have been unfairly placed in the “departure lounge” when their company decides to restructure. Sometimes it is obvious there has been unfairness, or discrimination, in the process. On other occasions it’s much harder to prove even if suspected and the recent case of Dabson v David Cover & Sons Ltd doesn’t help employees much. On the other hand, employers will be relieved.
Tomorrow I am chairing the SBK Legal and Strategic Guide to Workforce Restructuring. It’s an all day conference with some very interesting speakers and covering a wide range of topics. Click here for details.
There will be presentations on how to vary contracts of employment, how to adjust pensions, a review of the government’s planned employment law review, how to maintain a positive working relationship with Unions, as well as a session on “Realising redundancy savings: abiding by the rules to avoid a later backlash”. The law on redundancy and procedure is particularly interesting to me and I will be especially looking forward to that session..
How much tax should employers deduct from termination payments? HMRC have announced a change to the way that lump sum termination payments have to be taxed by employers from this coming April.
As is well known, the first £30,000 of a compensation payment can be paid free of income tax and national insurance contributions, provided that it is paid as compensation for “loss of office” or employment. This commonly applies on redundancy, but can apply in other situations too.
First day back from the festive break and The Times, which must be short of contributors at the moment, rehashes the old argument about employees and their lawyers holding poor innocent small businesses to ransom.
Yesterday’s edition contained an opinion piece from Helen Giles, HR Director of a business called Broadway which apparently provides services to homeless people. Her theme? “Stop legal parasites feeding on small business”(*) This morning the story made it onto the Today programme on Radio 4 and a much more useful discussion, chaired by Evan Davis.
There May be Trouble Ahead ...
Hooray! Christmas looms ever larger on the horizon and we even have some (slightly premature) snow to put us in the mood. The annual season of eating, drinking, feeling sick and, yes, the Office Party, will soon be upon us. Employers could end up with a nasty hangover if they’re not careful.
I wonder if in these times of austerity there will be a temptation to party like it’s 1999? Maybe, and according to Personnel Today, employers could be placing themselves at risk by not putting in place a policy setting out what is acceptable behaviour at the Christmas party.
How much can an employer be ordered to pay of it loses a claim for Unfair Dismissal at an Employment Tribunal? For many (especially small) employers an award of compensation to an employee following a finding of unfair dismissal could jeopardise the future of the business, sending it into bankruptcy or liquidation.
The maximum that a Tribunal can award is, currently, £65,300 plus a small basic award calculated on age and length of service (unless the dismissal is connected with health and safety or whistleblowing). The employee has to be able to prove his/her losses and will be awarded such sum as the Tribunal feels is “just and equitable” in all the circumstances. S.123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is the relevant piece of legislation and also says that the amount of the award is such sum
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.
I said 'TUPE, not toupee'
This can be a real headache for employers where they have “inherited” employees following a transfer of an undertaking under the TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006. It is quite well known that if TUPE applies to a transfer then if the Transferor (let’s call it NewCo for ease if not originality) dismisses an employee from the transferee (OldCo) for a reason connected with the transfer, the dismissal will be automatically unfair, unless NewCo can show that an “economic, technical or organisational” reason applied entailing changes in the workforce. TUPE has the effect of transferring all employment contracts and rights from OldCo to NewCo.
