Take part in the HSE 'Red Tape Challenge'

If you haven’t already done so…….take a look at the HSE website, www.hse.gov.uk

Your chance to have your say awaits, in an effort to unburden employers of ‘red tape’

The HSE is publishing all the regulations affecting one specific sector or industry, They are inviting you to tell them what’s working and what’s not, what they can simplify and what can be scrapped.

Here’s the best bit…based on your feedback, they will start getting rid of unnecessary red tape!

The challenge is taking on live themes and includes employment law issues so take a look and be a part of the process.  Take the HSE Red Tape Challenge here.

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Age clearly does matter, as recent Employment Tribunal statistics show a 79% rise in claims

Figures published recently by HM Courts and Tribunals Service in its Annual Statistics for 2010/2011 have revealed a ‘dramatic’ rise in the number of age discrimination claims lodged at the Employment Tribunal.

The figures show that, in the year up to 31st March 2011, 6,800 age discrimination claims were filed, a rise of 31% on the previous year’s number. Since 2008/2009, the overall number of claims has risen by 79%.

These figures show a dramatic rise in the number of age discrimination claims in the past two years and emphasise the importance of employers becoming more age-aware.

Against a backdrop of a number of high-profile ageism cases, the ending of the default retirement age and rising levels of redundancy and unemployment, many more people believe that they are being discriminated against. With further job losses expected in the public sector and the lingering idea that older workers are a burden, we would not be surprised to see these figures continue to rise. Remember, age is a unique form of discrimination, as it can affect anyone and everyone as age is something we all have, with young people being equally prone to marginalisation in the workforce.

Even large organisations can run into problems, as illustrated by the recent radio comments of an Aberdeen City Councillor, who whilst addressing the issue of funding from the Scottish Government for Aberdeen City Council asserted “that this was a test for the Council’s Leader,[ 26 year old Callum McCaig] who had to show whether he was a man or still a boy.” It is often ill-advised and inappropriate comments, (no matter how well meant) that can lead to discrimination claims and contribute to these rising figures.

Organisations must have appropriate policies and training in place to deal with all aspects of discrimination, and to ensure that processes like redundancies, recruitment and pay are free from any discriminatory practices.

These recent Employment Tribunal statistics also show that despite a small fall in the total number of claims lodged in 2010/2011, the total number of claims was still up by 44% from 2008/2009.

In short, the Employment Tribunal still continues to be busy and organisations, no matter their size, need to have the best HR policies, procedures and practices in place to combat this trend.

Craig Bennison
Head of Litigation

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First Prosecution Under Corporate Manslaughter Act

The first company to stand trial under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been fined £385,000 after being found guilty by the jury at Winchester Crown Court.

The conviction of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings Ltd came after a two-week trial at the court, where the company answered charges by the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the death of employee

Alexander Wright in September 2008.

In handing down the sentence on 17 February, the judge, Mr Justice Field, confirmed the company could pay the fine over a 10-year period, with £38,500 due every year of that period. The company does not have to pay any costs.

The judge said the fine marked the gravity of the crime and the deterrent effect it would have on companies to adhere to health and safety guidance. He said a larger fine would cause the small scale company to be liquidated, and four people would lose their jobs. “It may well be that the fine in the terms of its payment will put this company into liquidation. If that is the case it’s unfortunate but unavoidable but it’s a consequence of the serious breach,” he said.

Mr Wright, 27, had been left working alone in a 3.5m-deep trench to ‘finish up’ after the managing director of Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings, Peter Eaton, left for the day. A short time later, the trench collapsed on Mr Wright and buried him.

Peter Eaton had originally been charged with manslaughter by gross negligence, as well as a health and safety offence, in his own capacity but these charges were dropped after a successful application by his defence team last October on the grounds of his poor health. The company also originally faced a separate health and safety offence, but this was dropped by the prosecution in January this year after the judge raised the issue of whether the two different burdens of proof for the two remaining charges might confuse a jury.

In convicting the company, the jury found that the company’s system of work in digging trial pits was wholly and unnecessarily dangerous. The court heard the company ignored industry guidance.

Detective Inspector Giulia Marogna, of Gloucestershire Constabulary, who investigated the case with the support of the HSE, described Cotswold Geotechnical Holdings’ approach to health and safety as “cavalier”, and the way it taught and supervised its junior engineers as “inherently dangerous”.

Some commentators have argued that the Act was not designed to prosecute small businesses like Cotswold. However, the case was seen as a test case for the legislation. To secure the conviction,

the prosecution needed to demonstrate that:

• Cotswold’s conduct caused the employee’s death and amounted to a gross breach of a relevant

duty of care owed to the employee (section 1(1)).

• A substantial element of the breach was in the way the organisation’s senior management managed

or organised its activities (section 1(3)).

The successful prosecution of Cotswold demonstrates the importance for businesses to have a

health and safety culture and to ensure that everyone takes responsibility for improving health and

safety.


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Rebranding of Empire HR

Here at Empire HR we have recently launched our new image as part of our rebranding programme to compliment the range of services that we provide. In a brave move, we have decided to drop the HR from the title and will now be marketing ourselves as just Empire. 

The decision to rebrand follows continual growth and expansion for the business in recent years. In the last 18 month we have increased our clientele significantly and have seen a 25% increase in turnover.

The company is now one of the Scotland's leading HR, Employment Law and Health & Safety firms working with a wide range of clients with between 5 to 12,000 employees.

The new branding, name and logo was designed specifically to fully support the wide range of services that Empire has to offer.

Also to coincide with the new branding and image, we have just launched a new interactive website, offering free downloads, networking events and an online discussion board called The Empire Wire.

To find out more or to just simply have a look at the new website please visit http://www.empirehr.com/ or contact them on 01224 701383.

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Extending Sick Pay Not A Reasonable Adjustment

The case of Ashton v Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed that the obligation to make reasonable adjustments to those with a disability does not extend to increasing the amount of sick pay an employee gets.

Ms Ashton had frequent absences caused by her disability, and RBS made several adjustments to her working pattern and role allowing her employment to continue. However, RBS did enforce its absence policy by giving Ms Ashton a formal disciplinary warning once her absences reached a certain level, which consequently affected her sick pay.

Ms Ashton claimed that by issuing the formal warning and withholding her sick pay, RBS had failed to make reasonable adjustments. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal found that she was not at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to those who were not disabled because all employees were treated consistently in accordance with the absence policy, and confirmed that extra sick pay would only need to be paid in exceptional circumstances. In RBS’s favour was fact that the policy was sometimes relaxed for those with disabilities.

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Dismissal of Lewd Nurse Unfair

A nurse who was dismissed after she made a lewd comment whilst restraining a patient has won her

case in an Employment Appeal Tribunal.

In Bowater v NW London Hospitals NHS Trust, the nurse was sitting astride a patient who was having a fit and jokingly said “it’s been a few months since I was in this position”. Despite the fact that only her colleagues heard the comment, she was dismissed on the grounds of gross misconduct. The case highlights that it is crucial to take all the circumstances into account prior to a dismissal. In this case, the tribunal took her unblemished record and the fact that no member of the public heard her comments into account.

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Requests For Time Off For Training Delayed

Small businesses are to be spared from being forced to deal with requests for time off for training – for the time being.

Employers with more than 250 employees have been required to deal with requests since 6th April 2010, and the right to request time off for training was due to be extended to all businesses from 6th April 2011.

Following a consultation, the Government has confirmed that the right will not be extended as planned, so that the potential impact upon small businesses can be investigated further.

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