Feature Articles

Following last week’s developments, the UK is now legally set to leave the EU on 31 October 2019 unless a deal can be reached before that date.

Barrister Robert Spicer examines the case law dealing with injury after manual handling, and risk assessments.

Stuart Chamberlain, author and senior employment consultant at Croner-i, considers the implications for employment law and immigration if the Government is unable to obtain Parliament’s approval for withdrawal from the EU and there is “no deal” when the UK leaves the EU. He distinguishes between the short-term and long-term effects and implications and offers some advice to employers.

Dismissal for gross misconduct in the workplace or during working time is well documented. But what if the alleged misconduct takes place outside working hours, in the individual’s private time? How should an employer respond? Will a dismissal be fair? We examine the issues.

Social media and online networking carried out across sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat amongst others, is regarded as a normal, everyday feature of nearly all adult lives. While most individuals are capable of monitoring and restricting their own usage to levels they are happy to continue, there are some individuals who may be experiencing negative health impacts due to their ever increasing need to use social media.

Martin Hodgson explains the 12 simple steps to risk assessment that adult social care providers should follow to ensure that they comply with the law and with their regulatory requirements.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has made the follow recommendations, which the Government accepts, in respect of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for certain apprentices and workers in respect of pay reference periods starting on or after Monday 1 April 2019. The new NMW rates for pay reference periods starting on or after 1 April 2019 are as follows:

Paul Tew, small business consultant and freelance advisor, outlines what employers must do to calculate the National Minimum Wage (NMW) correctly and ensure this is paid for all relevant hours worked by relevant workers.

In the short, grey days of winter, it is important to remember that psychological factors can be as damaging as physical health and safety problems in the workplace. However, their effects can be assessed and controlled in the usual way, reports Jon Herbert.

Following employers in the city of New York being legally prevented from racially discriminating against employees due to their natural hair or certain hairstyles, UK employers may be questioning whether “hair discrimination” is occurring under their workplace dress codes.