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13th August 2024
Breakdown of the incoming workplace sexual harassment laws
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 is scheduled to come into force Saturday 26th October 2024. It places a requirement on employers to take proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
ACAS defines sexual harassment as ‘unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature’ with employees, workers, contractors, self-employed people and job applicants protected by the Equality Act 2010.
Sexual harassment is also described as unwanted behaviour that violates someone’s dignity, whether it was intended or not, creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them, whether it was intended or not.
The Worker Protection Act is part of the efforts of the new Labour government to drive change in the workplace.
There are also proposals by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to amend its guidance on preventing workplace sexual harassment with emphasis on third-party harassment. This is designed to alert employers to their obligation to protect employees against harassment by third parties which includes suppliers and customers.
The EHRC will use its legal powers to ensure employers take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, and where
employers are proven to have failed to comply with the new duty, employment tribunals will have new powers to increase compensation by up to 25 percent.
Given the severe impact this new legislation will have on businesses of all sizes, it is important that the right policies and procedures are developed to prevent sexual harassment in their workplace.
People Mastery is fully equipped to provide HR advice and support to employers to support the employee journey and in this instance, to ensure reasonable steps are taken to prevent sexual harassment at work.
8th August 2024
Flexible Working
Since covid, there has been significant change in the workplace.
Flexible working is one that has come to the fore. It involves making a change to when, where or how an employee works.
Some types of flexible working include:
●Part time hours – working less than full time hours
●Staggered hours – different start, finish and break times
●Remote working – working away from the office in an agreed location
●Working from home – working away from the office at home
●Hybrid working – flexibility in work location usually between the office and home
●Flexitime – flexible start and end times with agreed limits
●Job sharing – two people do one job and split the hours
●Compressed hours – working contractual hours but over fewer days
●Annualised hours – working a certain number of hours over the year with flexibility about when they are worked.
These are now day one rights in a job and the new Labour government is proposing extra changes to how employers handle these requests.
People Mastery offer HR advice and support in reviewing or developing a flexible working policy and in helping you through the process.
5th August 2024
Annual Leave Entitlement
With the ongoing Summer Olympic Games, it makes it interesting to consider if an employer can cancel an employee’s holiday request at short notice.
Annual leave entitlement is divided into two:
1. the minimum 5.6 weeks’ statutory paid leave per year under the Working Time Regulations (WTR)
2. Any additional contractual leave entitlement.
Employees are required to give notice of at least twice the amount of time they want to take off under the WTR. An example is giving 20 days’ notice for a request for a leave of 10 days.
On the part of the employer, this request can be refused by serving a counter notice of a similar length. This means any leave already approved can only be cancelled by giving twice the amount of time the employee has requested. An example again is giving four weeks’ notice for a leave that is for two weeks.
Where contractual annual leave provision is higher than the statutory minimum, there may be a different provision. Decision makers/line managers should check the employee’s contract of employment and any related policy for guidance.
This is why such matters require careful consideration.
As a general rule, an employer should not refuse or cancel holiday with the effect that an employee does not have enough time left in the holiday year to take their WTR minimum.