A derogatory comment posted on social media will be defamatory if it contains an untrue imputation against the employer that serves to undermine the reputation of the organisation in the eyes of "right thinking" members of society. For the material to be libellous it must be in permanent form and must clearly identify the organisation (whether directly or by inference), and the meaning of the statement must be such that, in their natural and ordinary sense, the words are capa

The Employment Rights Bill currently imposes a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace, instead of just reasonable steps. From October 2026, this will become all reasonable steps which means employers will be held liable for third-party harassment if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This liability is not just limited to sexual harassment, but extends to harassment on the grounds of: age; dis

A job-share arrangement requires that there are two suitable employees available to share the role. What happens if one half to the job-share agreement resigns or is dismissed should be agreed at the outset of the arrangement. A flexibility clause could be included in the job-share employees' contracts, requiring the remaining employee to revert to full-time working, or part-time working in a non-job-share role. The employer must exercise this flexibility in a reasonable mann

The Employment RIghts Bill includes provisions to remove the requirement to earn at or above the lower earnings limit and the three-day waiting period to qualify for statutory sick pay (SSP). This means that SSP will be available from day one. Additionally, SSP for those earning below the current rate of SSP will be set at 80% of average weekly earnings. These changes will take effect in April 2026. What needs updating? Any sickness absence policy will need to be updated to e

Under the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 (SI 1981/917), employers must provide such first aid equipment and facilities as are adequate and appropriate in the circumstances. What is adequate and appropriate will depend on factors including the nature of the hazards and risks involved in the type of work, the size of the organisation and the location of the workplace. Employers should carry out a needs assessment to determine what level of first-aid provision th

Employers must deal with statutory requests for flexible working in a reasonable manner and must consult with the employee, unless it is prepared to accept the employee's request in full. Employers must notify the employee of its decision within two months of the request, or a longer period if agreed with the employee. The Acas code of practice on requests for flexible working sets out guidance for employers and will be taken into account by employment tribunals. The code re

If an employee takes part in industrial action, the whole of the week in which the action occurred is discounted for the purpose of continuous service, but there is no break in continuity. In determining the period of continuous employment, the date on which employment began is treated as having been postponed by the number of days between the last working day before the strike began and the day work was resumed.

Simply put, a hybrid worker splits their working time between the workplace and a remote location. This could be the worker's home or another location. This may be within the context of a hybrid working model that applies to the whole workforce or sections within it. An individual could also be known as a hybrid worker where they have made a flexible working request to work remotely for part of the time. There is no single model for hybrid working. An employer that implements

Before submitting a claim to the employment tribunal, a prospective claimant must contact Acas. Acas will attempt to reach a settlement in the matter by contacting the parties, talking through the issues and exploring ways of resolving the dispute. If Acas concludes that a settlement is not possible, or the six-week conciliation period expires without a settlement being reached, it will issue an early conciliation certificate to the prospective claimant. The prospective claim

A self-employed person is an independent contractor who runs their own business. Self-employed people are not entitled to the statutory employment protection rights that apply to workers or employees. The model for use when contracting with a self-employed person should be a standard contract for the provision of services and terms indicating employment such as sickness, holiday and discipline should not be included. The person should not be referred to as an employee, and sh

The real living wage has been announced today, giving real living wage employers six months to implement the rate by May 1st 2026. What is the real living wage? The real Living Wage remains the only UK Wage rate calculated on the real cost of living. It is voluntarily paid by over 16,000 UK businesses who have chosen to transform millions of people’s lives and raise the bar for what decent work looks like in the UK. Nearly half a million employees have received a pay rise as

A term-time worker generally works only during school terms. Term-time only contracts are used to accommodate employees' childcare responsibilities during school holidays, as well as for staff who work in schools. Term-time workers typically work 39 weeks a year, but the exact arrangement is for agreement between the parties. For example, the employee could work during half-term holidays but not during the longer school holidays. The employee will usually be paid their annual

Having investigated an employee's grievance and held a meeting with the employee to discuss it, the employer should consider whether or not to uphold the grievance and what, if any, action to take. The employer could decide to uphold the grievance in full, uphold parts of the grievance and reject others, or reject it in full. If the employer upholds the grievance wholly or in part, it should identify action that it will take to resolve the issue. In the course of the grievanc

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires some organisations to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statement for each financial year, setting out the steps that the organisation has taken during the year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place in its supply chains or its own business (or setting out that it has taken no such steps). An employer is covered by the duty to prepare a statement under s.54 if it: is a body corporate or partner

An employer should attempt to obtain the agreement of all employees before implementing a change to their contractual terms. It should undertake a period of reasonable consultation, ensuring that it has a genuine business need to make the change. Obtaining employees' consent will be the option involving least legal risk, but the employer may have alternative options if not all employees agree to the change.  If there is a flexibility clause in the employment contracts allowin

Where an employee is late for work on one occasion without good reason, unless there are consequences for you and your organisation (for...

An employee's bad attitude could amount to a conduct or capability issue, or both. For example, if an employee is being deliberately...

Yes, job applicants have the right to see interview notes if the notes are either transferred to computer or form part of a "relevant...

Where an employee who is subject to disciplinary proceedings is absent due to a short-term illness, the most appropriate course of action...

The short answer is, yes. That said, it can't be done in haste. A demotion might occur in a number of circumstances, for example a...