employment tribunals

In this episode, you’ll learn how to prepare for and run a case management hearing in the employment tribunal, including:-

• Why you should follow Isaac Asimov’s three laws of robotics
• The unknown knowns
• How to be a hero in front of the judge.

Daniel discusses the topic with Michael Salter from 42 Bedford Row.

This podcast  is supported by Watson Ramsbotton Solicitors and by Cover Clinic, and by the HR Inner Circle (the UK's leading community for smart, ambitious HR Professionals)

📚 BOOKS
My books include the Employment Law Handbook, Resolving Grievances and Deconstructing TUPE (see all books).

🎁 FREE STUFF
Employment law updates - www.danielbarnett.co.uk
Employer’s guide to redundancy - go.danielbarnett.com/free/redundancy
My YouTube channel - www.youtubelegal.co.uk

💎 PRODUCTS, MEMBERSHIPS AND COURSES:
HR Policies - https://policies2020.com
Join the HR Inner Circle - go.danielbarnett.com/hric
Getting Redundancy Right - https://gettingredundancyright.com
Changing Terms and Conditions course - go.danielbarnett.com/courses/changingterms
Marketing your Employment Law Practice - go.danielbarnett.com/courses/marketing
Own-branded email updates for solicitors - www.employmentlawbulletins.com

My recommended transcription service for grievances, disciplinaries and interviews - https://go.danielbarnett.com/rev

🌞 WHO AM I:
I'm Daniel Barnett, an employment law and HR barrister.  I advise and represent clients in employment tribunal litigation. I have my main website and work out of a set of Chambers.  I run a membership club for smart, ambitious HR Professionals and present the legal hour on LBC Radio.

☎️ CONTACT ME:
Tweeting @daniel_barnett directly is the quickest way to get a response from me.  Sadly there aren’t enough hours in the day to respond to everyone 😭, but I promise I read all messages.

♨️ IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This podcast is published by (c) Employment Law Services Limited.  The information in this video is for general guidance only and, although the presenters and publisher believe it was correct at the time it was recorded, the law may have changed since then.  You should always seek your own independent legal advice.  Any employment law explained applies to England, Scotland and Wales only.

Some of the links in this description are to my own products or are affiliate links.

In this episode, you'll learn:-

• when employers need to make reasonable adjustments
• examples of common adjustments that can be made
• four top tips for reasonable adjustments.

This podcast  is supported by Watson Ramsbotton Solicitors and by Cover Clinic, and by the HR Inner Circle (the UK's leading community for smart, ambitious HR Professionals)

📚 BOOKS
My books include the Employment Law Handbook, Resolving Grievances and Deconstructing TUPE (see all books).

🎁 FREE STUFF
Employment law updates - www.danielbarnett.co.uk
Employer’s guide to redundancy - go.danielbarnett.com/free/redundancy
My YouTube channel - www.youtubelegal.co.uk

💎 PRODUCTS, MEMBERSHIPS AND COURSES:
HR Policies - https://policies2020.com
Join the HR Inner Circle - go.danielbarnett.com/hric
Getting Redundancy Right - https://gettingredundancyright.com
Changing Terms and Conditions course - go.danielbarnett.com/courses/changingterms
Marketing your Employment Law Practice - go.danielbarnett.com/courses/marketing
Own-branded email updates for solicitors - www.employmentlawbulletins.com

My recommended transcription service for grievances, disciplinaries and interviews - https://go.danielbarnett.com/rev

🌞 WHO AM I:
I'm Daniel Barnett, an employment law and HR barrister.  I advise and represent clients in employment tribunal litigation. I have my main website and work out of a set of Chambers.  I run a membership club for smart, ambitious HR Professionals and present the legal hour on LBC Radio.

☎️ CONTACT ME:
Tweeting @daniel_barnett directly is the quickest way to get a response from me.  Sadly there aren’t enough hours in the day to respond to everyone 😭, but I promise I read all messages.

♨️ IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This podcast is published by (c) Employment Law Services Limited.  The information in this video is for general guidance only and, although the presenters and publisher believe it was correct at the time it was recorded, the law may have changed since then.  You should always seek your own independent legal advice.  Any employment law explained applies to England, Scotland and Wales only.

Some of the links in this description are to my own products or are affiliate links.

Ever had a question about holiday pay?  In this episode, Andrew Allen QC explains all the tricky issues surrounding the law on holiday pay.

Follow Andrew Allen QC on Twitter.

Subscribe to Daniel Barnett’s YouTube Channel.

Listen to Daniel Barnett on LBC, the UK’s largest commercial talk radio station.  Join him every Saturday from 9pm for the LBC Legal Hour.  Listen live on FM 97.3, DAB radio, online at lbc.co.uk or via the Global Player App.  Listen to his latest show using the Global Catchup Player.

This episode is supported by Beverly Hills Bakery, one of London's most established American bakeries, founded in Knightsbridge in 1990, offering a truly worldwide gift delivery service of gift baskets and gift tins filled with freshly baked, handmade mini muffins, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and cakes & pies.

See all Daniel Barnett’s books here.

Get high-level access to barrister Daniel Barnett, for answers to your most complex HR and employment law problems.  Visit http://www.hrinnercircle.co.uk for more information.

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful.

Subscribe to Employment Law Matters to automatically receive new episodes every Tuesday.

If you have a question, or any feedback, please email podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett .

© Employment Law Services Limited 2021.  Any information on this podcast is for general guidance only.  Please see our full terms and disclaimer.

When can, and can’t, you dismiss an employee for social media misuse? 

In this episode, barrister Daniel Barnett discusses this topic briefly with Professor Virginia Mantouvalou, Professor of Human Rights & Labour Law at UCL Faculty of Laws.   

He then explains the law on social media and dismissals, giving examples of various cases where dismissals have been held to be fair and unfair.

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Listen to Daniel Barnett on LBC, the UK’s largest commercial talk radio station.  Join him every Saturday from 9pm for the LBC Legal Hour.  Listen live on FM 97.3, DAB radio, online at lbc.co.uk or via the Global Player App.  Listen to his latest show using the Global Catchup Player.

See all Daniel Barnett’s books here.

Get high-level access to barrister Daniel Barnett, for answers to your most complex HR and employment law problems.  Visit http://www.hrinnercircle.co.uk for more information.

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful.
 
Subscribe to Employment Law Matters to automatically receive new episodes every Tuesday.
 
If you have a question, or any feedback, please email podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett .

© Employment Law Services Limited.  Any information on this podcast is for general guidance only.  Please see our full terms and disclaimer.

London Central employment tribunal announces a member has staff has tested positive for Covid-19.

The President of Employment Tribunals (England & Wales), Judge Barry Clarke, issues three new guidance documents.

First is the Presidential Practice Direction on the use of the Welsh Language. This reminds tribunals in Wales than any witness or participant who wishes to use Welsh rather than English is entitled to do so in tribunal proceedings.

Second is the Presidential Practice Direction on remote hearings and open justice. This sets out the way that open justice should be preserved during remote hearings, for example by witness statements being put up on screen or read out by the witness.

Third is the Presidential Guidance on remote and in-person hearings. This sets out the factors to consider when deciding whether a hearing should be remote, partly remote, or in person, and gives guidance on how parties should prepare for remote hearings (including guidance on lodging documents). It also sets out safety factors for in-person hearings.

I have been given my own show on LBC, the UK’s largest commercial talk radio station.  Join me every Saturday from 9pm for the LBC Legal Hour.  Listen live on FM 97.3, DAB radio, online at lbc.co.uk or via the Global Player App.  Listen to my latest show using the Global Catchup Player.

See all Daniel Barnett’s books here.

Get high-level access to barrister Daniel Barnett, for answers to your most complex HR and employment law problems.  Visit http://www.hrinnercircle.co.uk for more information.

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful.
 
 Subscribe to Employment Law Matters to automatically receive new episodes every Tuesday.
 
If you have a question, or any feedback, please email podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett .

© Employment Law Services Limited.  Any information on this podcast is for general guidance only.  Please see our full terms and disclaimer.

In this, the second of two consecutive episodes, Daniel Barnett of Outer Temple Chambers and Emma Erskine-Fox of TLT Solicitors (@emmafoxlaw) discuss the GDPR, two years after it came into force.

In this second part, you’ll learn:-

·      things employers need to search for

·      definiting the search parameters

·      dealing with requests for common names or initials

·      redaction

·      answers to ten questions tweeted in before recording the podcast

Get high-level access to barrister Daniel Barnett, for answers to your most complex HR and employment law problems.  Visit http://www.hrinnercircle.co.uk for more information.

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful.
 
 Subscribe to Employment Law Matters to automatically receive new episodes every Tuesday.
 
If you have a question, or any feedback, please email podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett .

© Employment Law Services Limited.  Any information on this podcast is for general guidance only.  Please see our full terms and disclaimer.

If you like this podcast, please send out this tweet – it helps grow the podcast and encourages us to keep going.

In this episode, Daniel Barnett discusses three recent unfair dismissal cases:-

1.   Harrison v Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust: suspension should not take place as a kneejerk reaction

2.   Lafferty v Nuffield Health  - whether you can dismiss an employee who has been charged, but not convicted, of a crime

3.   Uddin v London Borough of Ealing  - a case following on from Royal Mail v Jhuti, about the fairness of a dismissal if an investigating officer withholds information they know about from the disciplinary officer. 

LINKS

Join the HR Inner Circle - www.hrinnercircle.co.uk

Access Daniel Barnett’s new course, Getting Redundancy Right – www.gettingredundancyright.com

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful.
 
Subscribe to Employment Law Matters to automatically receive new episodes every Tuesday.

If you have a question, or any feedback, please email podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett .

© Employment Law Services Limited 2020.  Any information on this podcast is for general guidance only.  Please see our full terms and disclaimer.

HR teams need to plan for the inevitable rise of flexible and agile working after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Risks and questions abound, from discrimination and harassment to protecting employees’ physical and mental health and wellbeing.

In this episode, we look at:

• The right to request flexible working, and whether this goes far enough (compared to countries like Finland);
• The grounds for refusing a request, and whether this will be harder moving forwards;
• The risk of claims relating to indirect sex discrimination, health and safety (both mental and physical) and protected characteristics;
• Whether remote surveillance of employees is legal, and how to manage the risks; and
• The need for a robust approach to data protection and information security.

We also look at what recent news stories have taught us about the wide scope of equalities protections and the need for a dress code for virtual meetings.

In our listeners’ questions, we discuss the use of personal devices for work purposes when working remotely and the expected rise in whistleblowing claims as a result of the pandemic.

Useful links:

ICO’s tips on working from home securely

TLT’s ‘Fit for the future’ hub

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email emplawpodcast@tltsolicitors.com or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive legal insights at tltsolicitors.com/signup

If you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.

In this episode, you'll learn about the standard of 'reasonableness' in conduct and performance dismissal, including:-

• why you should never fly with Captain Taylor of Alidair Airlines
• when it can be okay for bus drivers to have traces of cocaine in their systems and not be dismissed
• the future of the 'range of reasonable responses' test.

We're down to the last 20 or so places for Daniel Barnett's big conference in a couple of weeks time in central London.  It’s for HR Professionals, on 14th October, and is exclusively for members of the HR Inner Circle – my membership club for smart, ambitious HR Professionals.  Have a look at the conference programme. It’s free to attend, by the way, if you’re a member, and you find out how to join on the website. 

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful as it helps others to find the podcast and to keep the project going.

Be sure to subscribe to Employment Law Matters to be notified of new episodes via www.danielbarnett.co.uk/podcast.

If there is a subject you’d like to hear covered on Employment Law Matters please email your request to: podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett

In this episode, employment barrister Daniel Barnett discusses what to do when an employee who has complained of sexual harassment decides she wants to drop her allegations.  

You'll learn what to do, depending on whether: 

• the complainant agrees to a formal investigation
• you are genuinely satisfied the issue is resolved
• the complainant doesn't want to cooperate
• you want to investigate irrespective of the complainant's cooperation.

LINKS
www.hrinnercircle.co.uk/hrconference2019

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful as it helps others to find the podcast and to keep the project going.

Be sure to subscribe to Employment Law Matters to be notified of new episodes via www.danielbarnett.co.uk/podcast.

If there is a subject you’d like to hear covered on Employment Law Matters please email your request to: podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett

This episode considers when alternative employment will and won’t be ‘suitable’ in a redundancy situation.  

You'll learn:-

• what is the duty to consider alternative employment?
• what are the five factors a tribunal will want to know about to decide whether the alternative role is 'suitable'?
• when might it be reasonable for a redundant employee to turn down an offer of suitable alternative employment?
• how hard does an employer have to look for alternative employment?

LINKS:
Daniel Barnett's conference on 14 October for HR Professionals - www.hrinnercircle.co.uk/hrconference2019

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful as it helps others to find the podcast and to keep the project going.

Be sure to subscribe to Employment Law Matters to be notified of new episodes via www.danielbarnett.co.uk/podcast.

If there is a subject you’d like to hear covered on Employment Law Matters please email your request to: podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett

Chronic stress impacts employee wellbeing, productivity and company performance.

With the World Health Organisation now classifying burnout as a workplace disease, employers need to understand their legal and moral duties to prevent, identify and manage this issue.

In this episode crammed with top tips and examples we look at:

• What causes burnout, from workplace factors like always-on technology and a culture of out-of-hours working to external events like Brexit anxiety
• How some companies are managing the risks, from mental health first aiders and regular wellbeing days to 32-hour working weeks and not delivering emails out of hours
• The lengths employers can be expected to go to ensure that someone can remain in employment – but does extreme burnout always require an extreme remedy?

In our news round-up we cover:

• A discrimination case involving an employee's social media post (read our latest article on social media issues);
• New legislation and guidance on the use of NDAs or "gagging clauses" (read Siobhan's comments in People Management); and
• Bereavement leave for pets – could this become law and how to deal with it.

Useful links from this episode:
The Stevenson / Farmer review
Equality Act 2010 Code of Practice
HSE stress risk assessment template

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email emplawpodcast@tltsolicitors.com or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights including our A-Z of employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.

In 2017, the trade union Unison persuaded the Supreme Court that employment tribunal fees were unlawful, because they deprived the public of effective access to justice.  

Are we going to get fees back?  In this episode, you'll hear:-

• why HR like tribunal fees and lawyers hate them
• why tribunals haven't reached their pre-2013 numbers
• what the various political parties say about the future of tribunal fees
• Daniel Barnett's prediction on whether, and in what circumstances, fees will be brought back.

Thank you for listening and please leave a review if you found this helpful as it helps others to find the podcast and to keep the project going.

Be sure to subscribe to Employment Law Matters to be notified of new episodes via www.danielbarnett.co.uk/podcast.

If there is a subject you’d like to hear covered on Employment Law Matters please email your request to: podcast@danielbarnett.co.uk or tweet @daniel_barnett

From air con wars and dress codes to live streaming sports and unexplained absences, summer can present a unique raft of challenges for HR and legal teams.

What starts off as an office moan can quickly escalate, with the most serious cases resulting in a discrimination claim.

In this episode of TLT's employment law podcast, we look at three of the "hottest" issues you might face this summer and throughout the rest of the year, including:

• Air conditioning and dress codes – do office temperatures discriminate against women? Can you force employees to wear a dress code in all weathers?
• Sickness and absence – how do you raise suspicious absences? How do you manage competing holiday requests? Do religious holidays take precedence? And can you or should you stop employees from working on holiday?
• Distractions at work – tennis, cricket, cycling, football transfers, Love Island… is it effective to ban distractions outright?

We share some cautionary tales and some best practice advice.

We also look at the latest news headlines including tribunal system delays and the legality of positive discrimination to improve ethnic diversity, and answer your questions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email emplawpodcast@tltsolicitors.com or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and consider writing a review.

If an employee feels they have been the victim of discrimination or harassment at work because of a philosophical belief, they could claim for compensation.

But what is a philosophical belief? Is fox hunting, life after death, veganism, Brexit or Scottish Independence protected under the Equality Act or is this just an opinion?

And what happens when one person's belief conflicts with another's, like Christianity and homosexuality? There is no hierarchy of beliefs so how should employers deal with this?

What impact has social media had on these cases, with it being so easy now for people to express their views on a particular topic?

Philosophical beliefs can be a tricky area for HR teams to advise on, but it's a growing issue and important to get right from a reputational and financial perspective.

TLT's employment team offers their views and shares some advice on how to deal with these cases, including the need to remain objective, listen and to have clear policies on how the company handles discrimination and bullying.

We also comment on three recent news stories including:

• Brexit and how the EU Settlement Scheme is performing
• CCOO v Deutsche Bank (ECJ), which suggests that the UK law on time recording might be in conflict with provisions of the European Working Time Directive
• The government-led consultation on maternity rights and enhanced rights on an individual's return to work, including our thoughts on the proposals

Finally, we answer some of your questions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email emplawpodcast@tltsolicitors.com or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Don't forget, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and consider writing a review.

The Me Too campaign has led to an increase in awareness of sexual harassment at work with companies needing to respond appropriately. In this episode, we look at:

• how companies are responding;
• how evidence is assessed at trial including emotional impact and banter;
• the impact of social media on claims and investigations;
• and vicarious liability for employers and the importance of training.

We look at forward-thinking initiatives from the US like the legal obligation to provide training and the use of 'love contracts' or 'relationship contracts', and whether these are likely to be used in the UK.

NDAs or 'gagging clauses' as they're often known are often misunderstood due to the way they're reported in the media – we look at what an NDA is and whether they're likely to be further regulated in the future.

We also cover the latest news, including what we can learn from the UK's gender pay gap reporting data (including for millennials) and how this regulation might evolve, including the likelihood of sanctions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email: emplawpodcast@tltsolicitors.com or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please consider writing a review.