The Employment Appeal Tribunal has this morning provided its verdict on the case regarding whether overtime should be included in holiday pay, ruling that overtime should be taken into account when holiday pay is calculated. Currently only basic pay counts when calculating holiday pay, but today’s ruling means that all people working voluntary overtime could now claim for additional holiday pay. While the details of the decision, particularly on whether claims can be backdated, have yet to be publicised, the verdict has serious implications... Continue reading

Britain is one of the safest places to work, but more must be done Last week, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published new figures showing that Britain continues to be one of the safest places to work in Europe, but warned that too many workers are still being injured or made ill by work.  Health and safety systems obviously differ across the world in terms of recording, reporting and enforcement. The European statistical office (Eurostat) publishes data in as standardised a form as possible and records available on Eurostat show that... Continue reading

The Living Wage is a subject constantly in the news, and, at least according to the media and social networking sites, it is evident more and more employers are getting on board. As we approach Living Wage Week 2014, we take a look at what the Living Wage is, the benefits, figures relating to the number of employers paying their staff the Living Wage, and the factors that might influence organisations to do so. Living Wage Week takes place this year from 2-8 November and is recognised as a UK-wide celebration of the Living Wage and Living Wage... Continue reading

Office relocation can be a hectic time and it often also comes with an increased risk of workplace accident and injury because of the activities outside the norm of usual day-to-day office operations. As a result, it’s important to be organised and ensure that you have carefully considered any potential health and safety issues that could occur during the moving process. Staff involvement in the move Ideally, the move should be carried out by removal professionals on a day where staff aren’t present, over the weekend for example – this ... Continue reading

This week sees the start of the 2014 European Week for Safety and Health at Work, a highlight of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign. Occurring from 20 - 24 October, hundreds of events will be held across Europe to mark the occasion. Sticking with the current theme, Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) and its community of partners aim to get Europe discussing stress and psychosocial risks in the workplace and how we can tackle them together. Commenting ahead of the start of the week, Dr Ch... Continue reading