Related Employment News

Networking via social media is on the increase in business and can be a useful tool for promoting the business. However, employers need to find a balance between making it work for them and protecting their business from the negative issues which may arise.

The sun may be shining, the beaches may be calling, the Directors may be on their yachts in the Med, but employment law continues to develop and change. Luckily for readers of HR watch, we are here to provide a brief and manageable summary of the latest developments.

Avid readers of HR Watch will know that we considered last month what should and should not be included in the advert placed to recruit your new member of staff. You’ve received a set of CVs – what do you need to do next to avoid falling foul of the law?

It’s a very straight forward scenario. A new post becomes available, and an advert needs to be placed to find the new recruit to fill the position. However canny readers of HR Watch will already be aware, that placing a job advert in the local newspaper, trade press, or even internally on the intranet needs some careful consideration of the potential legal pitfalls involved.

April heralds new legislative changes for anyone employing staff. We highlight the most important of these changes for readers of HR watch. New right to request time off for training. Businesses with more than 250 staff now need to cope with a new right for employees to be able to request time off for training. This right will be extended to all businesses as from 6 April 2011.

At present, temporary and agency workers do not enjoy the same employment rights as directly employed members of staff. However, the EC Temporary Agency Workers Directive (No.2008/104) is due to come into force in the UK on 1 October 2011 and will make substantial changes to businesses because after 12 weeks of employment, temporary and agency workers will have equal rights to permanent staff.

In many areas of law, employers may be held liable for the wrongful actions of their agents and employees. This is what is known as ‘vicarious liability’ in law. If an employee does something “in the course of his or her employment”, the employer may, in certain circumstances, be liable for those actions. Discrimination law is no exception.

The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and the Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (the “Regulations” for short) are intended to come into force from April 2010.