by Emma | Jun 15, 2023 | Newsletter
In a recent case the claimant said “I’m done” and walked out of the building. She later submitted a sick note. Her employer treated her statement as a resignation. She brought a claim of unfair dismissal.
The tribunal held that she had not resigned and found in her favour. They looked at the context in which Mrs Cope had said “I’m done” (a tense meeting), her anxious state and the fact that her actions after saying these words (in submitting a sick note) were not consistent with having resigned.
Be careful when believing an employee has resigned because it could well be regarded as being ‘in the heat of the moment’
If you have concerns that the employee’s possible resignation was made in a temper or in the heat of the moment, then the law says you should give the employee a cooling-off period in which to consider their decision before accepting it. This need only be a few days maximum.
If the resignation is clear and unambiguous and has not been prompted by an emotive or highly-charged situation then you are able to accept it immediately. Once you have accepted it the resignation will stand unless you agree to its retraction.
For further information, please give me a call.
by Emma | Jun 5, 2023 | Newsletter
This new act, will allow for the extension of existing redundancy protections while on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave to also cover pregnancy and a period of time after a new parent has returned to work.
By extending protection after a protected period of pregnancy, a woman who has miscarried before informing her employer of her pregnancy will also benefit from the redundancy protection.
Watch this space for implementation dates and further information.
by Emma | Jun 5, 2023 | Newsletter
This new piece of legislation will be implemented in due course- watch this space for a date.
What does this mean?
This will allow eligible employed parents whose new-born baby is admitted to neonatal care to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in addition to entitlements such as maternity and paternity leave.
The entitlement will be available to parents whose babies are born prematurely or who are sick and require specialist care after birth.
Neonatal care leave will apply from the first day of employment to parents of babies who are admitted into hospital up to the age of 28 days and who have a continuous stay in hospital of 7 full days or more. Parents will have a right to neonatal care leave of at least one week and up to a maximum of 12 weeks regardless of length of service and those with at least 26 weeks’ continuous service will have a right to receive neonatal care pay at a prescribed statutory rate. Parents taking neonatal care leave will have the same employment protections as those associated with other forms of family related leave, including protection from dismissal or detriment as a result of having taken leave.
You will need to update your family friendly policies to reflect this new act when it is implemented. Contact me for any queries.
by Emma | Jun 5, 2023 | Newsletter
The Carer’s Leave Act 2023
The Act will introduce a new and flexible entitlement of one week’s unpaid leave per year for employees who are providing or arranging care and will be available to eligible employees from the first day of their employment. They will be able to take the leave flexibly to suit their caring responsibilities and will not need to provide evidence of how the leave is used or who it will be used for. Employees will also be protected from dismissal or any detriment as a result of having taken time off.
The new entitlement to statutory carer’s leave will rely on the carer’s relationship with the person being cared for, which should broadly follow the definition of dependant used in the legislation concerning right to time off for dependants – a spouse, civil partner, child, parent, a person who lives in the same household as the employee (other than by reason of them being their employee, tenant, lodger, or boarder) or a person who reasonably relies on the employee for care. It will also depend on the person being cared for having a long-term care need. This will be defined as a long-term illness or injury (physical or mental), a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010, or issues related to old age. There will be limited exemptions from the requirement for long-term care, for example in the case of terminal illness.
Those taking carer’s leave will be protected from detriment, and dismissals for reasons connected with exercising the right to carer’s leave will be automatically unfair.
The legislation has no date of implementation as yet, so watch this space!
by Emma | Jun 5, 2023 | Newsletter
The definition of disability in the Equality Act 2010 states that the physical or mental impairment suffered by the individual must have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the individual’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. An effect will be long-term if, at the time of the discriminatory act, it has lasted at least 12 months, or is likely to last that long. This question will sometimes be difficult to determine, and medical evidence will usually be necessary. Where anxiety centres on workplace issues it should not automatically be assumed that when employment terminates the anxiety will fall away
In this case a claimant suffered from anxiety which had a substantial adverse effect on her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Her anxiety only started when she experienced a loss of confidence and felt overwhelmed at work, she had experienced anxiety for only three and a half months. The tribunal concluded that, following the termination of her employment, her anxiety was unlikely to persist given that it centred on workplace issues and so she was not disabled.
However, the EAT held that the tribunal had incorrectly placed material weight on the fact the workplace was causing her anxiety and that it was unlikely to persist after termination of her employment. The tribunal should have focused on whether the effect of her anxiety could well have continued for another eight and a half months, notwithstanding the termination of her employment and lack of medical evidence.
For any disability or disciplinary issues, please contact me.
by Emma | Jun 2, 2023 | Newsletter
The Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 is expected to be brought into force in May 2024; the date will be confirmed later in the year.
Under the Act employers will be required to fairly allocate tips over which they exercise control or significant influence, and pay them to workers in full within a month of the payment made by the customer. Where tips are paid on more than an occasional and exceptional basis, the employer will also be required to have a written policy, available to all workers, that sets out how qualifying tips are dealt with.
There will also be a duty on employers to maintain a record of qualifying tips and their allocation which will have to be kept for three years. Workers will be allowed to complain to an employment tribunal within 12 months of a failure to comply with the new obligations, and the Act gives equivalent rights to agency workers.
For assistance with policies and any advice on tips, please contact us now.
