Shared Parental Leave
In the first employment tribunal case to address a discrimination complaint over shared parental leave (SPL), a father has been awarded almost £30,000 after his employer refused to pay his shared parental leave at the same rate as his wife who was employed by the same company.
In the case, Snell v Network Rail, both the claimant and his wife were employed by Network Rail. The company’s policy provided for mothers to be paid at an enhanced rate during SPL but only the statutory rate for partners.
The tribunal agreed that a SPL policy that disadvantages partners (who are more likely than not to be men) by paying them at a less favourable rate than the mother of a child is indirectly discriminatory.
Employers need to be careful to ensure that pay is consistent across both men and women who take shared parental leave.
Please contact us if you have any queries or concerns regarding your Shared Parental Leave Policy.
Reasonable Adjustments
In the case of G4S Cash Solutions (UK) Ltd v Powell, after the Claimant became disabled through a back injury the Respondent gave him work in a new role at his existing rate of pay and led him to believe that the role was long-term. The following year, however, it said that it was only prepared to employ him in this role at a reduced rate of pay; and when the Claimant refused to accept these terms he was dismissed.
The view was taken that there was no reason in principle why the duty to make reasonable adjustments should exclude any requirement to protect an employee’s pay and that pay protection is no more than another form of cost for an employer making a reasonable adjustment.
Please contact us if you need any advice on disability or reasonable adjustments.
Commission payments should be included in holiday pay confirms the Court of Appeal
Employers who have not been including commission payments in holiday pay calculations need to be aware that they now run the very real risk of having a succession of unlawful deductions from wages claims brought against them.
Please contact us if you have any queries on your holiday calculations.
Caste Discrimination
The government has announced that it will be proceeding with a full consultation on caste discrimination. The consultation will seek views on whether additional measures are needed to ensure victims of caste discrimination have appropriate legal protection and effective remedies under the Equality Act 2010.
Music can help productivity says survey
Recent research reveals that two in three people (61%) listen to music in the workplace and best yet, that listening to music at work leads to happier employees and boosts office morale and creativity.
Here’s some of our fascinating findings:
- Over a third (36%) of workers find that music helps to get them through the day
- 20% of workers find that listening to music is a welcome distraction from their “boring” jobs.
- 16% admitted that they listen to music to drown out colleagues.
- One in ten (10%) revealed that they have judged a colleague based on their choice of music.
Research showed that the most popular genre of music in the workplace is pop/chart music, with over a third (34%) choosing it as their preferred genre, closely followed by rock (29%).
Any questions regarding November’s update, please contact us on 07929 506 143 or echrltd@aol.co.uk