A Is For Learning

08 / 04 / 2013

The word apprentice is based on the French for “to learn” (apprendre). And for hundreds of years, in one form or another, that has been the purpose and status of the apprentice. It’s often been associated with the learning of trades and crafts such as dying and weaving, carpentry and joinery, building and construction; and in the last century, electrical...

Weight Discrimination: A Heavy Burden

04 / 04 / 2013

The long-awaited Easter weekend has now been and gone. Many of us will have feasted on chocolate eggs until we were ready to explode (some of my team are particularly partial to a spot of chocolate, whether it’s egg or Easter bunny shaped). I’ve lost count of the number of adverts I’ve seen with “buy one get one free” offers...

Pregnancy at Work

03 / 04 / 2013

Anybody who has experience of working in HR knows that pregnant employees are one of the most protected groups in employment law. As soon as an employee becomes pregnant, she enters into a “protected period” until she returns to work after maternity leave. This means that if she receives unfavourable treatment in relation to her maternity leave or pregnancy, then...

Health and Safety: Severance Pay?

02 / 04 / 2013

Nobody is ever going to give health and safety an award for the sexiest workplace subject. In fact, despite all the sensible and obvious arguments in its favour, many companies still tend to underestimate the importance of safety at work. Risk assessments are often pushed to the bottom of the to-do list and contingency arrangements are frequently not made to...

In The Eyes of the Law

28 / 03 / 2013

Employers sometimes have to deal with some unusual matters. Where an employee’s activity outside the workplace affects his ability to carry out the role, the employer may have to take action to dismiss. It is even more difficult if the problem arises not with an employee’s own activity but that of a family member. In such cases, even where the...