HR & employment update

News

National Minimum Wage breach

Big name companies such as WHSmith, Marks & Spencer and even Argos were in the headlines recently in relation to National Minimum Wage breaches. The companies were among nearly 200 others that the HMRC fined for failing to pay their workers nearly ￡5m in wages and resulting in a total of ￡7m in fines to the HMRC. The employers were also ordered to reimburse over 63,000 workers who did not receive the correct pay between 2017 and 2019.

Out of the many violations of the NMW, the largest proportion was failing to correctly deduct wages for things such as uniforms and expenses, which emphasises the importance of keeping accurate records to ensure deductions are not resulting in underpayment.

Data breaches

Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly common in today’s digital age with companies struggling to keep up with the latest sophisticated technology. Recently, companies including the BBC, British Airways and Boots were the latest victims to a cyber attack where hackers used a third party software vulnerability to deploy ransomware to their systems.?While cyber attacks are nothing new, it’s essential to ensure you have robust policies and procedures in place on how to deal with personal data breaches, and, when using third-party suppliers, ensure they also have appropriate measures in place to protect your data.

Legal Updates

Query of wage underpayment resulting in dismissal was unfair

It is easy for businesses to think that employees with less than two years’ service have limited employment rights, but a recent case of a charity shop worker proves otherwise and highlights the importance of understanding employees’ statutory rights and their right to enforce them from day one.?

In this case, a charity shop manager raised a query with HR regarding her wages being underpaid and when her manager found out, the employee was called to an informal meeting that turned into a dismissal meeting. Although employees usually need two years’ service to bring an unfair dismissal claim, there is a list of reasons for dismissal that are automatically unfair and require no qualifying service.

The judge found that the charity shop manager’s claim for automatic unfair dismissal succeeded, as well as her claim for deductions from wages, infringement of the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary hearing and failure to provide a written statement of particulars.

Witness to assault also becomes a victim of harassment

Being a victim of sexual assault is traumatic in itself but actually witnessing sexual harassment taking place at work and feeling equally vulnerable can also be a violation of a workers ‘professional dignity’.

In this case, an agency worker who witnessed the sexual assault of female workers, was also deemed a victim of harassment by a tribunal, as the events (and the employer’s subsequent failure to deal with his concerns) were a ‘violation of his dignity at work’.

Having a zero tolerance of harassment and any form of abuse in the workplace is a key takeaway in this case, especially in industries such as hospitality where the lines between work and social events can get blurred, as well as remembering that it’s not only the victims who can bring claims, so any concerns raised should be treated seriously.

Other stuff

Would your business benefit from summer working hours? A report from PWC has revealed that over 90% of its staff felt there was a positive impact on their wellbeing after taking Fridays off during the summer period.

Would you take career advice you see on social media seriously? Well, it depends if you’re Gen Z or not. A recent survey from NerdWallet UK, a platform that provides financial guidance, has shown that over 60% of 16-24 year olds say that they would trust advice given by career influencers on TikTok.

Interest rates show no signs of getting lower after the latest rate hike. Now employers are?being called upon to give more support to employees in a growing cost of living crisis. Among the suggestions put forward are increasing the mental and financial wellbeing support offering to employees and ensuring managers are trained to be able to support those who may be struggling.

My bit

This year I’ve been devoting time to my personal development.?In April I completed my workplace mediator training and just last month I qualified as a trainer accredited to deliver Neurodiversity in the Workplace awareness and champion courses.?Both are passions of my mine and aim to shift ways of thinking – mediator training by resolving issues before they get to a grievance or disciplinary or resignation and neurodiversity in the workplace by creating a culture where diversity is welcomed and adjustments made for the benefit of all and not just a few.?If you would like to understand more just let me know.

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