I asked my colleagues in International Workplace’s employment relations team whether they would like to step up to defend the boss of the company that had very publicly been admonished for sending home an employee – without pay – who refused to wear high heels at work. Perhaps unsurprisingly, none of them wanted to take up the challenge. The company in question is Portico, which describes itself as a specialist provider of high quality, tailored front and back of house guest services. It’s an FM business, which is why I was particular... Continue reading

It seems like a week cannot pass without a report of harassment or inappropriate behaviour by high-profile figures or within well-known businesses and brands. This is despite legislation that has been designed to prevent harassment and discrimination being in place since the 1970s. Greater awareness of this legislation through the news and social media appears to have given individuals the confidence and impetus to call out bad behaviour. Are employers up to speed though and keeping pace with the changes in society and what equality now means i... Continue reading

It’s staff Christmas party week… and with that comes the danger of over-amorous colleagues, over inebriated staff, and ‘over the top’ risk of litigation if employees do not behave themselves appropriately! It doesn’t have to be this way – your festive bash is a great way of thanking your staff for all their hard work over the last year and for bringing everyone together, and most Chrimbo antics pass without an issue. But there are key considerations any employer should take into account before cracking on with the Christmas get-tog... Continue reading

The four-day working week concept has been bandied around a lot in the last few weeks, with regular headlines of companies transitioning from traditional 9-5 Monday to Friday working, to four-day weeks for their staff.  To some, this may idea may cause concern – how can a business deliver all it needs to, if its staff only work 80% of their hours? Rewind back to 1879, when the earliest use of the word ‘weekend’ was recorded in an English magazine called Notes and Queries. A ‘weekend’ was when a worker took a half-day on Saturday and... Continue reading

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, delivered his 2018 budget recently and repeatedly declared that ‘austerity was coming to an end’.  In addition to changes to apprenticeship contributions, personal tax threshold increases, and the IR35 rollout for medium and large organisations, he has also confirmed an increase in the national living wage (for those aged over 25) from £7.83ph to £8.21ph from April 2019.  This will be a five percent increase and benefit around 2.4 million workers. The Government is looking to increase this to £9ph by 202... Continue reading