The Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced gov.uk/government/new… new government policy to remove ‘reporting requirements and other regulations’ in connection with workers’ rights from all businesses employing under 500 employees.

/1 The scope of this announcement is not clear. At the Conservative party conference yesterday, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg appeared to suggest it would apply to all workers’ rights.

https://twitter.com/DazNewman/status/1576986301622001665?s=20&t=rPLayiCVpbWXY1UYt3-WXg

/2

This THREAD is an extract from module 5 of the Virtual Employment Law Academy , which covers the law on dismissals for poor performance and absence from work. This segment deals with long-term ill health dismissals (to be contrasted with repeated short-term absences).

1/55 It is important to remember that the disability discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010 may well come into play when considering dismissal on grounds of long-term illness. We look at disability discrimination issues in a different module

2/55

In 2019, I did my masterclass2019.co.uk tour. In it, I predicted the changes over the next 3-7 years which would happen to workers' rights as a result of leaving the EU. I have gone back today and rewatched those videos...

1/17 These were my six predictions on what was likely to change in #ukemplaw between 2022 and 2027.

2/17

Can you imagine a duller title for a government Bill than the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill?

1/8 But this might just be the most important piece of employment legislation we’ve seen since the introduction of discrimination and dismissal laws in the 1970s. It was published yesterday. publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill…

2/8

A huge thanks to the superstar barrister from @outertemple, Mr @plivingston67. Paul is the guest on the first episode of the new season of danielbarnett.co.uk/podcast, speaking about Harassment.

1 of 4 We discuss the various limbs in the definition of harassment in the Equality Act 2010, run through examples, disect the extent of an employer's responsibility for the acts of its workforce, look at how employers should deal with anonymous complaints, and much more.

2 of 4

Centre Parcs is closing next Monday, to the anger of thousands of holidaymakers. Is it legal, and what can you do? My preliminary thoughts by way of THREAD bbc.co.uk/news/business-…

/1 Centre Parcs can only close and require people to leave for the day if their terms and conditions say they can. And they don't. So they can't.

Here are their terms and conditions - centerparcs.co.uk/information/te…. There are two sections which matter.

/2

What should you do if, as an employer, you receive a complaint about cyber bullying or harassment? I recommend you take the following steps:

1. take a comprehensive statement from the complainant without delay

1 of 10 2. work out what acts of misconduct may have been committed by referring to your policies

3. appoint an experienced person to lead the investigation

4. Decide who would be the decision maker if disciplinary action becomes necessary, and who would hear any appeal

2 of 10

Things can turn really serious, really quickly, if your employee steals or misuses your confidential information or intellectual property.

1 of 22 Cases which predate the 2000s focus on employees making photocopies of their employer’s confidential information such as client lists and commercially sensitive data, and infringing their intellectual property, such as breaching their copyright and registered trademarks.

2 of 22

When does 'banter' at work become harassment?

A short thread, followed by a video where I explain in more detail.

1/9 You might think that something you say at work is trivial, such as an office joke to a French colleague about a particular nationality being ‘bad losers’ after a big football match; or a moan to another colleague about a female line manager being a “bit shrill” at meetings.

2/9

1/ It’s finally here.

The latest volume in my Employment Law Library.

It’s book number 12 in the series and is called:

================
Employment Tribunal Compensation: Breaking Down The Intricacies Of Employee Litigation Settlements
amazon.co.uk/Employment-Tri…
================ 2/ It’s available on Amazon right now and you can get it by clicking this link:

>>> amazon.co.uk/Employment-Tri…

I had to come up with a headline to promote the book.

It’s one of those things the marketing gurus recommend.

Here’s the current front runner:

1/ NEIGHBOUR DISPUTES: TREES AND HEDGES.

A thread.

Always speak to your neighbour about your concerns before taking further action. 2/ A calm approach can help prevent a disagreement turning ugly, or even turning to a legal dispute. If you're uncomfortable speaking face-to-face, sending a respectful letter might do the trick.

It was a clear cut case.

A women sued her employer for race and sex discrimination…and won.

As a result of her experience, she left her job.

If you’re familiar with employment tribunals you’ll know these cases usually result in loss of earnings compensation. In this case, it didn’t.

How so?

Well, here are the facts of the case.

The women from St Vincent was a serving Commonwealth member of the UK armed forces. She was also a single mother.

1/ A shout out for two companies which, today, win the award for amazing service and shockingly bad behaviour. 2/ First, amazing service. @Hussle_Official is a company which partners with gyms to allow monthly membership. Someone in my family signed up last month, didn't like the gym, but forgot to cancel. Her card was charged automatically today for renewal.

Does the Virginia Guiffre settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein stop her suing Prince Andrew? A thread.

https://twitter.com/BBCBreaking/status/1478057917580554240

Important: I am an English lawyer. I know *nothing* about US law. But I can tell you what I think an English court would decide.

[THREAD] My Top Tips for References

1.Have a clear policy and ensure it is applied throughout the business. Requiring all reference requests to go via HR, rather than individual managers, can help support a consistent response. 2.Make sure all references are provided in accordance with that policy.

3.Include a template reference letter in the policy to both guide and limit referees.

1/ Dismissal and re-engagement: a thread

Many employers have changed terms and conditions during the pandemic, whether to access the furlough scheme or to enable the survival of the business through economically unprecedented times. 2/ Some employees have been willing to agree to those changes, keen to avoid a redundancy situation.

1/ I don't normally report first instance tribunal cases on my email update service, but this case is interesting so I thought I'd tweet about it. It's a holiday pay case. 2/ The case highlights the usefulness of the s30(1)(a)(i) Working Time Regs right to complain that an employer refused to permit the employee to exercise the right to take paid annual leave.

1/ New legislation on compulsory vaccinations for care home workers [A THREAD] 2/ A new law compels care homes to ensure almost all workers are vaccinated against Covid-19. It comes into force on 11 November 2021, and applies to England only. I will be speaking about this topic in detail on 6 September go.danielbarnett.com/2021.

1/ I don't *think*, contrary to what everyone is shouting on Twitter, that Labour is proposing unfair dismissal rights from Day One. 2/ I've been unable to find any formal proposal or policy document, and I'm just working off press releases like labour.org.uk/press/labour-a… and labour.org.uk/press/embargoe…

1/ So you've got a forthcoming holiday to Portugal. What's the legal position on whether you can cancel? [THREAD] 2/ It is not illegal to travel to an amber list country for a holiday, although the government 'advises' people to only go for urgent trips. But as I've said many times, 'advice' is not 'law'.

For the next day or so, I'm giving you a month’s access to the HR Inner Circle for just £1. If you're a smart, ambitious HR professional who wants to make sure you're at the leading edge of knowledge, and the first to be 'in the know' for cutting edge strategies and tactics for making your life as an HR Professional easier, I strongly suggest you don't miss out.