I have recently been involved in a 4-car shunt, so I have every sympathy for anyone trying to sort their car insurance just now.  Being in the middle of the shunt and having missed the car in front twice before the 4th car hit us all so hard I finally hit it, I am fortunate…
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In the heady days of 2015 (a year after the Flexible Working request legislation was introduced) I presented to a group of HR professionals on the business case for Flexible Working and Flexible Hiring. Back in 2015 less than 7% of advertised ‘quality’ job roles (i.e. roles with a salary of £20k+ FTE) stated that…
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It’s been a busy year for mentorists (and I don’t mean the mind tricks chaps on the telly!) – those who are deemed the good and great of mentoring in every business are unusually busy at the moment, as companies rush to put in their next big thing – mentoring programmes for women. There are…
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Travelling by plane is an exciting experience for me. I doubt I will ever lose the thrill of take-off and landing. Even though I am technically minded enough to understand how the plane stays in the air, I still feel a bit of childish wonder. My latest journey was brightened by the realisation that we…
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Rather like my recent blog on constructive dismissal, it is always helpful when their judgy-nesses have another look at your bread-and-butter employment law topics  –  in this case, ‘what type of conduct justifies a fair dismissal’? Two cases recently published have looked at this exact point. Two gross misconduct cases The first was Mbubaegbu v…
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You will hopefully have read by now our newsflash on the Supreme Court’s Pimlico Plumbers judgment. I’d like to clear up a couple of myths about that case that have been circulating in the media. First of all, this it is not a gig economy case. Mr Smith was not engaged via an app or…
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Constructive dismissal is a bit like the metaphorical bar of slippery soap. We all think we know what it looks like, but sometimes its concepts can be harder to grasp. From an HR perspective it is fairly easy to spot the actions that might provoke an immediate resignation – a significant change in someone’s duties,…
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Recently I have been asked about two very similar situations in which, in each case, the roles in each company’s HR team were being compared with those in its Finance team. It’s a very common comparison. The problem was that the company’s Job Evaluation scheme (JES) wasn’t giving management the answers the company wanted. It’s…
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I’m sure you will be aware of the ‘market rate’ factor which can justify a pay differential between those of the opposite sex whose roles are (or are claimed to be) comparable under equal pay legislation. It’s usually the obvious defence that employers reach for very often and one that they can develop a very…
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Being a total law nerd, I like nothing more than sitting down with a cup of tea, a Hobnob (other biscuits are acceptable) and a ‘fresh off the press’ Court of Appeal decision. I enjoy nodding sagely when their Lord and Ladyships come up with a decision that I entirely agree with and smugly thinking ‘well…
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