Click here to view with images. To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add us to your address book.
Employment Law e-bulletin October 2019
Welcome to our October e-bulletin. There is still time to book on to our Essential Employment Law Seminars on 8 & 9 October in Edinburgh and Glasgow - see below for further details. See also details below for details of our more in depth employment law training courses.
Innes Clark This month we are also looking at:Employment tribunal award statistics - the first full 12 month period since fees where abolished When a suspension can result in a constructive dismissal Whether vegetarianism can be a protected characteristic under religion and belief legislation The significance of the effect on a victim of discrimination when assessing injury to feelings awards The public interest requirement for whistleblowing New legislation, consultations and guidance Workplace wellbeing - our regular look at mental health and wellbeing in the workplace Our regular look at employment law in the news In our Blog of the Month Kate Sutherland looks at an employer's obligations to employees who suffer from seasonal affective disorder You can download our free Employment Law App MF HR Mobile for both Android and iPhone. This includes calculators for unfair dismissal awards, maternity pay and statutory redundancy payments, as well as key employment law facts, figures and fingertip guides. It also includes this monthly eBulletin. If you have any questions on the content of this ebulletin or if you would like to discuss any other employment issue then please contact any of the Employment Law Partners listed below: Innes Clark on 0131 247 1181 / innes.clark@morton-fraser.com; Lindsey Cartwright on 0141 274 1141 / lindsey.cartwright@morton-fraser.com; David Hossack on 0131 247 1024 / david.hossack@morton-fraser.com; or David Walker on 0141 274 1146 / david.walker@morton-fraser.com.
Essential Employment Law Seminars We will be running our latest essential employment law seminars in both our Edinburgh and Glasgow offices in October - "Upcoming legal challenges for employers - what you need to know". There are some significant employment law developments coming up, as well as consultations about potential new legislation, including:a new right to request workplace modifications on health grounds for all employees (not just employees who are "disabled" under the Equality Act) enhanced redundancy protection for pregnant employees and those on family leave changes to the law on harassment changes to gagging clauses update on Brexit and existing employees changes to IR35 This seminar will explain what these changes and proposals might mean for your business, enabling you to be one step ahead in preparing for any potential consequences and allowing you to assess any potential risk areas before they arise. We will be joined by Kal Sangha, a corporate tax adviser with RSM. Kal will provide us with his thoughts on the IR35 changes. The dates for the seminars are:8 October at 5.30pm in our Edinburgh Office, and 9 October at 8.30am in our Glasgow Office The seminars will last approximately one hour, including questions and answers, with an opportunity for networking before and after. Registration will take place from 5:00pm for a 5:30pm start for the evening seminar in Edinburgh and 8:00am for an 8:30am start for the breakfast seminar in Glasgow. Please click on the links above to book Read More
Employment Law Training Morton Fraser - Employment Law Training A practical series of employment law courses covering key employment law and related HR issues brought to you by one of the leading employment law teams in Scotland. Coming up in November (click on the course title for full details) Managing employees (Performance) training - 6 November (Glasgow) / 8 November (Edinburgh) This can be one of the most challenging workplace issues for employers. We will look at the legal framework and provide you with practical tips on handling employees who can't or won't do the job. This will include use of probationary period and the significance of 2 years' qualifying service (and the exceptions to the rule!), key elements of an effective performance management process, dealing with difficult conversations, tricky issues that can arise during the performance management process including attitude issues, patterns of performance improving and then dipping, grievances, sickness absence, accusations of bias, disability issues and reasonable adjustments. For details of how to book click here. Disciplinary and grievance issues training - 25 November (Edinburgh / 26 November (Glasgow) This session will support you in dealing effectively and efficiently with disciplinary and grievance issues. Topics covered will include techniques to avoid matters escalating, short service dismissals, when and how to suspend, effective workplace investigations, conducting hearings, tricky issues including overlapping grievance and disciplinary matters, delays caused by sickness absence, witnesses wishing to remain anonymous, employees making recordings of hearings, criminal issues/police involvement and practical tips. For details of how to book click here. Immigration & employment - Glasgow: 14 November 2019 Between 1 October 2018 and 31 December 2018, the Home Office issued fines of nearly £8 million to employers who had breached right to work rules. This course will cover compliance with right to work checks, how to protect your organisation against fines, employing workers from outside the EU and practical tips on how to engage with your existing EU workers and monitor registrations under the Settled Status scheme. We will also look at how future recruitment from the EU will work. For details of how to book click here. Our employment law training Keep up-to-date with the key legal requirements and best practice in the workplace saving your organisation time and money. Our high quality training courses are designed for business owners, directors, HR professionals, line managers, in-house lawyers and finance team members seeking an understanding of, or an update on, specific selected areas. The maximum group size is 20 delegates to allow for scenarios and questions. We will confirm attendance for CPD purposes. A link to our employment law training programme with details of our full and half day training courses with details of costs can be found here.
Employment Tribunal Award Statistics 2018/19 Employment tribunal claims are on the increase. Read More
Suspended employee constructively dismissed Suspension is a significant step and can give rise to a constructive dismissal claim. Read More
Vegetarianism a "lifestyle choice" not weighty or serious enough to gain protection under Equality Act Vegetarianism does not meet the requirements to be a philosophical belief. Read More
Effect of discrimination more important than cause when assessing compensation Resilience of victim of discrimination can be a factor in lowering the level of compensation they receive. Read More
Whether a disclosure is in the public interest under scrutiny again The EAT has considered a case where a disclosure had elements of both personal and public interest. Read More
New Legislation, Guidance & Consultations Some very practical guidance covering topics which many HR professionals will encounter on an almost daily basis has been published in the last month. Read More
Workplace wellbeing Our regular look at mental health and wellbeing in the workplace. Read More
Employment law in the news In our regular slot we look at the key cases and other employment law issues that have made the news headlines over the past few weeks. Read More
Blog of the Month Don't forget, you can keep up to date with all our blogs and content in the Knowledge hub. In our blog of the month Kate Sutherland looks at employer's obligations to employees with seasonal affective disorder. You can also follow Innes on Twitter.
Employment Law Guide & Employment Timeline To see our Brief Guide to Employment Law in Scotland, England and Wales, click here. For details of upcoming changes in employment law, see our Updated Employment Law Reform Timeline.
Wake up and smell the clarity At Morton Fraser, clarity is what underpins everything we do. Our latest campaign shows just how frustrating it can be when things aren’t clear. Take a look and see for yourself.
Wake up and smell the clarity
Employment Law Fact Card
Our Employment Law Fact Card is full of useful information for employers including disciplinary and redundancy checklists, Employment Tribunal award limits, family friendly leave entitlements and national minimum wage rates. If you would like a hard copy of our free Fact Card please email us at employment@mortonfraser.com with your name and postal address and we will send it on to you. Alternatively, you can access an electronic version here. You can also find lots of useful employment law information on our free iPhone app which is available to download from the App Store. For further details and a link to the download see: MF HR Mobile - Our Employment Law App "...the app is gorgeous, very well designed with great functionality and looks." - Legal IT insider (www.legaltechnology.com)
Employment Law Support for your Organisation How we can help Clear employment law advice from one of the leading employment teams in Scotland. More Law Society accredited specialists than any other team in Scotland Clear, pragmatic, cost effective, legally privileged advice Fixed fee packages available (including Tribunal awards insurance, if required) A highly professional and responsive service…very approachable and always easily contactable Chambers and Partners. Contact innes.clark@morton-fraser.com to find out more. Employment law training We offer a practical series of employment law courses covering key employment law and related HR issues including:Disciplinary and grievance issues training Managing employees (Performance) training Managing employees (Sickness Absence) training Discrimination and harassment training Employment Tribunal Procedure and Witness Familiarisation training Immigration & Employment training GDPR: the practical day to day skills you need to know in the workplace A link to our employment law training program me with details of our full and half day training courses with details of costs can be found here. A little more help The information contained in our Factcard, and much more, can also be accessed via our Employment Law app. Search for MFHRMobile at the App store or Google Play. If you don't already subscribe then contact us at employment@morton-fraser.com to receive our monthly employment law updates. As well as providing updates on key employment law developments, our monthly e-news also provides details of free employment law seminars that we run throughout the year. For further information please contact Innes Clark on 0131 247 1181 or at innes.clark@mortonfraser.com.
WELCOME TO CLARITY Clear legal advice for businesses, public sector, individuals and families. Edinburgh: 0131 247 1000 Glasgow: 0141 274 1100 info@morton-fraser.com
Terms and Conditions | www.morton-fraser.com | Manage Preferences The contents of this update are for information only and are not intended to be construed as legal advice. Morton Fraser accepts no responsibility for the content of any third party websites to which this update refers.
Forward to a Friend | Unsubscribe | Manage preferences Address: Quartermile Two 2 Lister Square Edinburgh EH3 9GL United Kingdom