Season's Greetings from the PlusHR Team

• 22nd December - Open 9am to 4pm
• Christmas Day - Closed
• Boxing Day - Closed 
• 27th to the 29th December - Open 9am - 5.30pm
• New Year's Day - Closed 

Taking Sexual Harassment Seriously

Unless you have relocated to Mars, your newsfeed may have been flooded with the naming and shaming of heavyweight Hollywood moguls being outed with sexual harassment revelations. These revelations have highlighted that victims of sexual harassment in the workplace are still fearful of retribution and other consequences and therefore do not report the harassment.

However, more and more high profile people are stepping up and filing complaints that are heavily publicised. Therefore, employers need to sit up and take notice and assess their internal practices to ensure victims have the right support network in place. 

How to handle sexual harassment claims in the workplace:
1. Take complaints seriously in a prompt and professional manner.
2. Ensure that individuals in the case are supported during the investigation.
3. Train your management and HR team to deal with issues impartially.
4. Implement and communicate an anti-bullying and harassment policy. 

Employment Tribunal Fees Scrapped

R (Unison) v Lord Chancellor 
Described as one of the most important judgements in the history of UK employment law, Unison’s challenge to the employment tribunal fees system succeeded as a testament to the rights of citizens to justice.

On the 26th July 2017, seven Supreme Court judges decided unanimously that the employment tribunal fees system is unlawful and the legislation that introduced the fees must be scrapped.

What does this mean for businesses?
- Fees have been scrapped with immediate effect.
- Government reimbursement of claimants between 2013-17.
- Potential for individuals to lodge backdated claims. 
- A surge in tribunal claims going forward.  

Un"Appy" Ending for Uber and Gig Economy?

It is fair to say that with reported data breaches and losing an appeal against a ruling that its drivers should be treated as workers rather than self-employed - 2017 was not an uber year, well for Uber at least. Couple this with TFL's announcement that they will be revoking Uber’s licence to operate in London based on their lack of corporate responsibility the question looms is this a blow to the wider gig economy?

What is the 'gig' economy?
Quite simply this refers to the growing trend for businesses to take on labour characterised by short-term contracts or freelance work, as opposed to permanent jobs. Conflicting viewpoints range from the belief this creates a working environment that offers flexibility for both parties or is a form of exploitation with very little workplace protection.

This is not the end of the journey
Recently, Pimlico Plumbers suffered a similar fate losing its appeal on the judgement that one of its long service plumbers was a worker entitled to basic rights such as holiday pay rather than an independent contractor. All signs indicate that this is only the beginning for closer scrutiny of workplace rights for the millions employed in the gig economy.

Meet our New Clients

HR Consulting Launch 2018