Employers who fail to tackle members of the public who grope and subject female staff to lewd jokes should be held to account, UNISON has said. A motion debated at UNISON’s annual women’s conference in Bournemouth is seeking better protection for employees from unwelcome advances by people using public services, including parents and patients, as well as their friends and relatives. It wants to see the reinstatement of Section 40 of the Equality Act – a clause that ensured staff doing their jobs were safeguarded against third-party hara... Continue reading

Unite, the construction union, is launching a campaign to ensure that all workers in the industry, regardless of their employment status or where their employer sits in the supply chain, are provided with death benefits, following the recent fatality of a worker in Scotland. The worker was killed on the Longannet power station in Scotland. At the time of his death he was working for Brown and Mason. Although Brown and Mason described the worker as a “valued member” of their team and the company was registered with the B&CE (a not-for-profi... Continue reading

The Employment Lawyers Association (ELA) is concerned UK workers’ rights will be threatened as a result of Brexit. Questions remain over how courts and tribunals will interpret or rely upon case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) after the UK exits the EU. ELA, which is an apolitical organisation with approximately 6,000 employment lawyer members, also has concerns about the practicalities of implementing the government’s current proposal to ensure that UK workers’ rights keep pace with those of EU workers. “Ou... Continue reading

The rules around non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and confidentiality clauses are set to be tightened under new legal proposals announced by Business Minister Kelly Tolhurst on 4 March. This includes enshrining in law for the first time that individuals cannot be prevented from reporting crimes, harassment or discrimination to the police. Many businesses legitimately use NDAs and confidentiality clauses in agreements to prevent disclosure of confidential information. However, in recent months there has been increasing evidence to suggest that ... Continue reading

Line managers are not being given enough support and training to protect the mental health and wellbeing of staff at work, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) and Management Today has revealed. They found 62% of line managers are not receiving enough help from their organisation to support the mental wellbeing of their staff. Only 31% of respondents said they feel they have been sufficiently trained to recognise the signs of poor mental health in their direct reports. Organisations can take a better preventative approach ... Continue reading