Recent employment law case – unfair dismissal
In a recent employment law tribunal, it was found that an employee was entitled to 30% uplift to more compensation than usual. The case centred around unfair dismissal, however the main crux of the issue held in contention was an unfavourable reference given by the former employer. The 30% uplift entitled the former employee to a 50% payment, as opposed to the usual 20% statutory unfair dismissal rate. It seems many employers still seem unaware that it is illegal to give an unfavourable reference. With the correct training, policies, and procedures in place, this unfortunate event would never have happened. Safe HR consultancy services work to make sure all your policies and procedures are up to date, and in accordance with ACAS guidelines. Many still keep information in paper files on employees, however a transition to electronic information can improve security by restricting access to information. Safe EMS software can help with this transition. Our software can help automate workflow reminders to update policies and procedures, so your company never reaches a court room. To find out how our software could help your business visit www.safe-ems.co.uk to read more about our software and services, or follow the enquire online link to ask us more.

Recent employment law case – equality bill, failure to make reasonable adjustments
An employee had periods of sick leave for two years for a stress related illness. The internal company occupational health advisor stated the employee could return to work in a non-confrontational environment on reduced hours. Assigned to another unit, the employee worked there successfully for the next three years, and the occupational health advisor reassessed the employees condition. At that time it was thought that the condition of the employee was unlikely to improve before retirement. A medical report was written a year later, stating that the employee’s role should be adjusted to limit the amount of public contact and position the employee in a non-confrontational role. However the employee’s line manager simply approved early retirement with an ill-health pension. The employee brought a claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments, and this was upheld. The employers had felt there was no non-confrontational role vacant the employee could move to. However the tribunal felt that another member of staff in a non confrontational role could have been asked if they would like to move to a confrontational role, creating a vacancy. The tribunal heard it would be ‘reasonable adjustment to move a disabled person to a role which is not vacant’, to site an example, asking an able bodied person if they would wish to move to a role on a higher floor, to allow the disabled person to work on the ground floor. The tribunal felt this case followed the same logic, and as the employer had not asked other employees to move and create a suitable vacancy for this employee, they had not made reasonable adjustments. To find out how our software and consultancy services could help your business avoid such mistakes, visit www.safe-ems.co.uk to read more about our software and services, or follow the enquire online link to ask us more.