Is it just me, or are the male Lionesses a bit rubbish? Not a patch on the main team...................

This week's top 5:

1. PSNI chief won't reverse predecessor's ban on cops parading at event in uniform
2. What did the King's Speech say about employment law?
3. Latest Fair Employment Monitoring Report
4. Sun, sea and Slack: As many Brits plan to work from abroad – what are the actual rules?
5. No HR for HR: The culture crisis about to reach boiling point!

And in other news...............In his latest podcast, Barry Phillips reports on his experiments to create an executive coach for people in HR. Listen here!

CONTENTS

1. Case Law Reviews
2. King's Speech
3. AI and Employment Law
4. Equality & Diversity
5. Latest Fair Employment Monitoring Report published
6. ‘The new normal’: work from home is here to stay, US data shows
7. Cost of working is hitting UK employees hard
8. Just in Case You Missed It...
9. HR Developments
10. Employment News in the Media
11. GB Developments
12. Free Webinars This Month

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1. Case Law Reviews

Masiero & Others v Barchester Healthcare Limited [2024] EAT 112

Summary:
Dismissals as a result of refusing to get vaccinated against Covid-19 were fair and did not breach the claimants’ human rights.

Claimant: G Masiero & Others

Respondent: Barchester Healthcare Limited

Keywords: Unfair Dismissal; Coronavirus

Practical Guidance for Employers:
An interesting case from the time of the pandemic relating to mandatory vaccination. The EAT makes it clear that whilst there is an interference with human rights in requiring vaccination to continue in the employment it was not a breach of those rights. Many of the rights, including the right under Article 8 for family and private life, are not absolute but rather they are qualified. As such where the policy was justified it was acceptable and the dismissals were fair. This can be useful for employers who may be faced with the ‘my human rights are being breached’ argument by employees in relation to work policies. There is a hurdle to be overcome and, in this case, it was not overcome considering the justification.

Read the full Review here:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/case-law/2024/july/masiero--others-v-barchester-healthcare-limited-2024/

Tinker v Eyre Arms Limited [2024] Case No: 2602368/2022

Summary:
Dismissing an employee for raising allegations of sexual harassment constituted an automatic unfair dismissal on the grounds of a protected disclosure.

Claimant: Leyton Tinker

Respondent: Eyre Arms Limited

Keywords: Unfair Dismissal; Sexual Harassment

Practical Guidance for Employers:
A clear case of how not to deal with serious allegations being raised within the workplace.  Instead of properly investigating the actions, the owner decided to side with the long-standing employee in the face of the serious allegations and dismissed the new employee for raising the issues of sexual harassment. It goes without saying that when such issues are raised there should be a proper investigation into the allegations by collating all of the evidence and material before making decisions. The employer may also think about whether it is appropriate to suspend the employee on full pay who is subject to the allegations pending investigation.

Read the full Review here:
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/case-law/2024/july/tinker-v-eyre-arms-limited-2024/

These case reviews were written by Jason Elliott BL.  NI Tribunal decisions are available on the OITFET website: http://www.employmenttribunalsni.co.uk/

If you have any queries or wish to comment on the reports please feel free to contact Jason at: jasondelliott@outlook.com

Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University.  As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation.  This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Remember: Our case law reviews are held in our case law section on our fully-searchable employment law hub website:
https://www.legal-island.com/employment-law-hub/case-law-search-page/

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2. King's Speech

**NB: as employment law is a devolved matter, these proposed changes will apply predominantly to England & Wales and not NI. We will, of course, keep you up to date with any changes that do apply here.**

The King's Speech briefing notes can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6697f5c10808eaf43b50d18e/The_King_s_Speech_2024_background_briefing_notes.pdf

Employment Rights Bill confirmed in King’s Speech

The new government has confirmed it will ban ‘exploitative’ work practices through a new Employment Rights Bill in the King’s Speech. The Employment Rights Bill includes:

1. Day one rights for unfair dismissal, subject to a probation period
2. Making flexible working a default right from day one
3. Enhanced redundancy protections for employees on or returning from maternity leave
4. A ban on employers ‘firing and rehiring’ staff under less favourable terms and conditions.
5. A ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts
6. Improvements to statutory sick pay and the minimum wage

You can read the full article from Personnel Today here:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/kings-speech-2024-employment-bill/

Cheers for what’s in King’s Speech, boos for what’s not

In the King’s Speech delivered in parliament, the Employment Rights Bill was one of the most closely watched pieces of legislation. Among its provisions will be to make parental leave, sick pay and protection from unfair dismissal available from day one on the job for all workers (probation periods will remain), as well as making flexible working the default from day-one for all workers, “with employers required to accommodate this as far as is reasonable”. There was disappointment there was no AI Bill to regulate the use of artificial intelligence. 
More from Legal Futures:
https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/cheers-for-whats-in-kings-speech-boos-for-whats-not

King’s Speech: New laws propose ICO reform and mandatory ransomware reporting

The Labour government’s first sweep of planned legislation includes proposed new laws to reform the Information Commissioner’s Office and place requirements on organisations to report ransomware attacks to authorities. Public Technology has more here: 
https://www.publictechnology.net/2024/07/17/defence-and-security/kings-speech-new-laws-propose-ico-reform-and-mandatory-ransomware-reporting/

King’s speech – what employers need to know

State opening of parliament confirms plans to introduce an employment rights bill, which experts say will represent a ‘seismic shift’ for workers and businesses. People Management has more:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1881099/kings-speech-%E2%80%93-employers-need-know

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3. AI and Employment Law

Navigating generational perceptions of GenAI

Deloitte research highlights both worry and excitement among Gen Z with regards to Generative AI. Training Zone explores how accounting for different generational experiences of GenAI is a strategic imperative for employers and L&D:
https://trainingzone.co.uk/navigating-generational-perceptions-of-genai/

The Deloitte report is available here:
https://www2.deloitte.com/cn/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/deloitte-2024-gen-z-and-millennial-survey.html

ChatGPT as your Personal HR Coach/Mentor?

Barry Phillips reports on his experiments to create an executive coach for people in HR.

https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/resources/ai-for-hr-weekly-podcast/2024/july-2024/chatgpt-as-your-personal-hr-coachmentor/ 

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4. Equality & Diversity

PSNI chief won't reverse predecessor's ban on cops parading at event in uniform

Police chief Jon Boutcher has decided to double down on his predecessor's 2023 decision to ban PSNI officers from parading in uniform at Pride. Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said he "carefully considered this year's request" and that it's been a "difficult decision" but he decided to continue the ban "in line with our statutory obligations as a public service and as an employer to act with fairness, integrity and impartiality". More from Belfast Live:
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-pride-psni-chief-wont-29513157

Neurodivergent employees ‘mask’ their condition at work, study finds

Commentators call for employers to consider why staff might want to hide their neurodivergence, as two fifths report feeling uncomfortable asking for reasonable adjustments. More:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1881095/neurodivergent-employees-mask-condition-work-study-finds

Celebrating disability pride: a year-round commitment

This July, Disability Pride celebrations spotlight the diverse experiences and contributions of people with disabilities. But true inclusion goes beyond one month. Learn how companies can move past ableism, build accessible workplaces, and tap into a vast talent pool that’s often overlooked. More here from HRD Connect: 
https://www.hrdconnect.com/2024/07/16/celebrating-disability-pride-a-year-round-commitment/

Industry body warns digital secretary of half a million ‘missing women’ in tech industry

In a letter to UK Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle, trade body BCS, The Chartered for IT said more than 500,000 women are “missing” from the IT profession and “should be there” if representation was equal to other sectors. The figure was drawn from the body’s analysis of the Office for National Statistics labour force survey. BCS told Kyle that prioritising digital literacy in schools would help solve the diversity issue. More from Public Technology: 
https://www.publictechnology.net/2024/07/16/business-and-industry/industry-body-warns-digital-secretary-of-half-a-million-missing-women-in-tech-industry/

Is a mandatory retirement age good for younger workers or ageist?

Following Labour’s landslide win in the UK general election, the party is set to impose a retirement age of 80 on House of Lords members. But this opens up the wider question: is mandatory retirement legal? Will Labour’s plan encourage more businesses to introduce similar rules? And what are the pros and cons for employees and employers? Yahoo has more on this story:
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/mandatory-retirement-age-workers-ageism-050053255.html

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5. Latest Fair Employment Monitoring Report published

The 33rd fair employment monitoring report has been published by the Equality Commission. This latest report shows the breakdown of the monitored workforce in Northern Ireland by community background. It uses data provided to the Equality Commission by private and public sector employers based on their workforces in 2022.

For the first time since monitoring began, the share of the total monitored workforce from members of the Roman Catholic community [50.1%] was greater than that of members of the Protestant community [49.9%], reflecting a trend whereby Roman Catholics represent a majority of those available for work. This marks an end to the long-established trend of members of the Protestant community accounting for a greater share of the total monitored workforce and continues the trend of an increasing share from members of the Roman Catholic community. In the same period, the female share of the monitored workforce increased by 0.1 pp from the previous year (52.5%).

Read more:
https://www.equalityni.org/Footer-Links/News/Delivering-Equality/Latest-Fair-Employment-Monitoring-Report-published

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6. ‘The new normal’: work from home is here to stay, US data shows

Don’t call it work from home any more, just call it work. According to new data, what once seemed like a pandemic necessity has become the new norm for many Americans. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) most recent survey results show that the same percentage of employed people who did at least some remote work in 2023 is the same percentage as those who did remote work in 2022. More from the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/jul/12/working-from-home-data

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7. Cost of working is hitting UK employees hard

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting UK workers hard, with rising expenses outpacing global averages, according to Capterra’s Cost of Work 2024 which polled 2,716 employees across 11 countries. Of the 248 UK respondents:

• 95% reported an increase in their food shopping expenses over the past year compared with the global average of 83%.
• 85% of UK respondents experiencing rises in utility costs — far exceeding the global average of 70%.
• 62% of those in the UK reported an increase in car insurance costs, compared with a much lower global average of 38%.
• 68% of UK workers report that their pay hasn’t kept pace with the rate of increasing costs — similar to respondents in France, Italy, Australia and Canada.

More here from Media Leader: https://the-media-leader.com/cost-of-working-is-hitting-uk-employees-hard/

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8. Just in Case You Missed It...

Handling Remote Employee Complaints About Internal Recruitment Bias

For July 2024, we have asked the employment team at Tughans LLP to provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries.

This month’s problem concerns:

“We have recently carried out a recruitment process for an internal vacancy. We received a complaint from an employee who works remotely. The employee feels they were not looked upon as favourably during the process as other employees who work in the office. How do I handle it?”
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/features/how-do-i-handle-it/2024/july/handling-remote-employee-complaints-about-internal-recruitment-bias/

Employers! What are the alternatives to ChatGPT?

Barry Phillips considers whether there really are any viable alternatives to ChatGPT and if so, how we choose the best one.
https://www.legal-island.com/articles/uk/resources/ai-for-hr-weekly-podcast/2024/july-2024/employers-what-are-the-alternatives-to-chatgpt/

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9. HR Developments

Candidate credentials: Why HR should know their data sources

Growing demand for background screening in HR is resulting in a surge of new companies offering the services, many of which lack knowledge and experience of employment legislation and candidate rights. Coupled with insufficient data protection strategies resulting in candidate data breaches, this situation could plunge employers into a nightmare of reputational damage and litigation. HR Director looks at what you need to consider: https://www.thehrdirector.com/hr-know-data-sources/

No HR for HR: The culture crisis about to reach boiling point!

The unsung heroes of the workplace, HR professionals, are silently battling a burnout crisis. The weight of escalating responsibilities, coupled with the emotional toll of their role, is pushing them to the brink reports HRD Connect: https://www.hrdconnect.com/2024/07/15/no-hr-for-hr-the-culture-crisis-about-to-reach-boiling-point/

New code of practice for employing illegal workers: what HR should do

Fiona Hamor analyses the implications for businesses of the latest attempt to crack down on staff who don’t have the right to work in the UK in this article from People Management:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1880391/new-code-practice-employing-illegal-workers-hr

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10. Employment News in the Media

The ICO has issued the London Borough of Hackey with a reprimand following a cyber-attack in 2020 that led to hackers gaining access to and encrypting 440,000 files, affecting at least 280,000 residents and other individuals including staff. In the subsequent investigation into the data breaches, the ICO found a lack of proper security and processes to protect personal data. LBOH failed to change an insecure password on a dormant account still connected to Hackney council servers which was exploited by the attackers:
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2024/07/london-borough-of-hackney-reprimanded-following-cyber-attack/

A lying nurse who faked qualifications to get a senior job at an NHS hospital and claimed she had been shot while serving in the Army was today found guilty of fraud. Tanya Nasir claimed she was a Major in the British Army who had been shot on active duty in Afghanistan. But a court heard her military career was bogus and that she failed a basic fitness test - then faked a string of medical qualifications to get an NHS role reports the Daily Record: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/crime/lying-nurse-who-claimed-shed-33258948

A junior legal secretary who texted her boyfriend saying she wished she was dead following a series of incidents with a senior partner that left her feeling “very uncomfortable” and which contributed to an “unbearable” work environment has won a sexual harassment claim at a Lincoln employment tribunal. Megan Bratt began working at Lincoln-based JGQC Solicitors in January 2022 and resigned the following month after a series of inappropriate incidents involving firm owner and senior partner Marcus Hall. More here from People Management: https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1880764/junior-legal-secretary-sent-hi-sweetheart-text-creepy-boss-wins-sexual-harassment-claim

Barclays has introduced low noise emission hand dryers and gender neutral toilets in a drive to be more 'inclusive' for neurodivergent workers. It is the latest example of companies making big changes in the office in a bid to stave off criticism from the woke brigade. Employers' groups say a spike in people being diagnosed with conditions such as ADHD, autism and anxiety is piling the pressure on firms to make more provisions for them. More from the Daily Mail: 
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13631909/Barclays-low-noise-hand-dryers-gender-neutral-toilets-inclusive.html

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11. GB Developments

Employment law is a devolved power in Northern Ireland. The items in this section apply throughout GB only (Scotland and England & Wales) unless we specify they apply to NI.

New law on assaulting retail workers due this week

The Crime and Policing Bill will be announced on Wednesday this week (17 July) in the King’s Speech. It will make assaulting, threatening or abusing a retail worker a statutory standalone offence. Parties have been lobbied by major retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Boots to take action on rising crime against workers. Personnel Today has more on this story:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/retail-violence-legislation-2024/

Sun, sea and Slack: As many Brits plan to work from abroad – what are the actual rules?

As most companies have a flexible policy in place following the pandemic, workers will be swapping their home office for the beach. However, what are the rules around working from outside of the UK? City A.M. has more here: https://www.cityam.com/sun-sea-and-slack-as-many-brits-plan-to-work-from-abroad-what-are-the-actual-rules/

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12. Free Webinars Next Month

The Shape of DEI (Diversity, Equality and Inclusion) in Northern Ireland After the Elections

2nd August 2024, 11am

DEI expert Conor Curran, draws breath after the general and local election results to consider (DEI) manifesto promises. With a focus on workplace diversity & employment/equality law, this webinar will provide some insight as to what changes to working practices employers in NI might can expect in the future. The question is: when?

Conor Curran, Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Staff Wellbeing at Queen’s University. In his spare time, Conor is a freelance DEI Consultant. https://curcoconsult.com/

Register Now

NOTE: – send questions in live during the webinars or drop a line in advance to webinars@legal-island.com. Anonymity assured.

Check out previous discussions: https://www.legal-island.com/resources/any-questions-webinars/

Enjoy the weekend.

Legal-Island