The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has delivered its verdict that travel time to and from work for non-office based employees will now be classed as working time. Originally the case centred on a Spanish company whose employees were required to travel between client premises, installing and maintaining security equipment.  The employees became home-based due to the closure of their office.  The argument started as to whether the time spent travelling at the start and the end of their working day should be classed as ‘working time’. Pre... Continue reading

Employment advisor ACAS has issued new guidance to businesses to help them ensure their recruitment and induction processes are fair and robust. This new guidance provides employers and managers with practical advice on how to successfully run a recruitment or induction programme and includes free tools, templates and check lists. ACAS CEO, Anne Sharp, said: “Our free online guides will help employers understand how to get recruitment and induction right. If the process isn’t managed properly employers could face a costly Employment T... Continue reading

We reported recently on the drastic reduction in the number of Employment Tribunal claims being brought against employers since the introduction of a charging regime in 2013 which meant that claimants would need to pay £160 or more to lodge a claim. Claim numbers have dropped by more than 60% in the last two years, widely thought to be as a result of the charging regime.   Unions have widely criticised the charges, saying they discriminates against the people who are very often least able to fund a case against their employer, and so act as ... Continue reading

According to a study by Savills Energy, only 1% of firms obliged to carry out an assessment of the energy consumption of their buildings, processes and transport as part of ESOS – the flagship Government assessment programme – have actually done so. Research has revealed that just 152 of 15,000 eligible organisations have notified the Environment Agency that they are compliant with the ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme) Regulations with only three months until the deadline for compliance. Stuart Campbell, Director at Savills Energy,... Continue reading

Plans have been set out to reduce the NHS’ annual £2.4bn sickness bill, dealing primarily with the two largest causes of staff absence – mental health issues and musculoskeletal problems. The wellbeing initiative will include measures such as serving healthier food, promoting physical activity, reducing stress and providing health checks, and will target the 1.3 million health service workers employed by the NHS across the UK. One of the key initiatives will be to ‘challenge and support’ catering contractors to raise the standards of ... Continue reading