Feature Articles

According to Stress Statistics UK, 79% of workers say they frequently feel work-related stress. Whilst a little bit of stress can be helpful, by providing the impetus to get a particular project done or have a difficult conversation, too much can be harmful to an employee’s health, wellbeing and performance at work. Generally, however, the duty to make reasonable adjustments is not usually applied; stress isn’t a disability on its own or so it was said before the employment tribunal (ET) case of Phillips v Aneurin Bevan University Local Health Board (2023). Now, employers are on notice that there is yet another reason to deal with stress in the workplace and that’s the Equality Act 2010’s prohibition of discrimination on grounds of disability, and duty to make reasonable adjustments for a disability.

2024 is set to be a busy year for employers and their HR teams, with various new employment laws set to come into force. And with the Government’s announcement of the new National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW/NLW) rates, applicable from 1 April 2024, along with new rights to paid leave (neonatal care leave) and the requirement to hand over 100% of tips and gratuities to employees, it’s going to be an expensive one too. In this article, Stacie Cheadle, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, looks at the NMW/NLW rate increases for next year and sets out our top tips for managing minimum wage.

November 20 to 24 2023 is National Older Workers Week. By 2025, current estimates by Age UK are that one in three workers will be 50 or over. Age is an important factor to consider therefore when it comes to diversity in the workforce, and employers should ensure that it is part of the diversity, equality, equity and inclusion efforts. In this feature, we look at how employers can do that.

Amendments will be made to the Equality Act 2010 from 1 January 2024 that employers need to know about. These changes will bring clarity to post-Brexit discrimination law and enshrine a number of key employee rights onto the UK statute books. In this follow-up article, Stacie Cheadle, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, looks at changes to the Equality Act 2010.

Zero-hours contracts are often a point of contention. The appeal of this type of contract is its flexible nature, but that’s also where the majority of issues arise.

From 1 January 2024, major legal changes will come about as UK law separates itself from EU law. In order to continue to offer the same protection to employee rights, the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) will need to be amended. Stacie Cheadle, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, looks at these changes in relation to pregnancy, maternity and breastfeeding in this first of two articles.

As we approach the end of the year, many employers will be looking back at the successes in the business over the last 12 months, and thinking of ways they can celebrate this with their employees. Traditionally, a Christmas party has been a focal point of this, generally involving a late night, alcohol and frivolity. But are such events truly inclusive? In this article, Stacie Cheadle, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, looks at work-related social events and presents our top tips for ensuring they are inclusive to all.

After a long wait, the Government has finally released its responses to consultations on reforms to retained EU laws and the calculation of annual leave entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers. In particular, it has announced plans to reverse the effects of the Harpur Trust v Brazel decision, which is sure to come as a relief to many employers. In this feature, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, Stacie Cheadle, looks at the government announcement and what it means for employers.

The gender pay gap has continued its decline in the UK; over the last decade, it has fallen by around a quarter. This headline sounds pretty great, doesn’t it? But delve deeper into the statistics recently released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the story is a lot more complicated than that. In this feature, Croner-i employment law researcher and writer, Stacie Cheadle, looks at the latest gender pay gap figures and what they can tell us about what more needs to be done to bring the gender pay gap down.

6–10 November 2023 is Talk Money Week, a campaign run by MoneyHelper which encourages everybody to talk about money, to help build financial resilience and confidence in managing money in the future. Employers can get involved with this too, from actively promoting the campaign to offering employees access to financial advice and support to help them take control of their finances.