In this newsletter we look at legislation updates, case law judgements, considering “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women in the workplace, and other elements.

We hope you find this information helpful, if you would like more detail on any aspect please contact us.  Don’t forget to take a look at our website to see the full range of our services.

From basic Contracts of Employment to a fully Outsourced HR service we can help.  If you would like to know more about any of our support, consultancy, and training services, and see how we can help you, please visit our website or contact us at info@connectivebusiness.co.uk to arrange a Free no-obligation consultation.

In this newsletter we look at legislation updates, case law judgements, considering “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women in the workplace, and other elements.

We hope you find this information helpful, if you would like more detail on any aspect please contact us.  Don’t forget to take a look at our website to see the full range of our services.

From basic Contracts of Employment to a fully Outsourced HR service we can help.  If you would like to know more about any of our support, consultancy, and training services, and see how we can help you, please visit our website or contact us at info@connectivebusiness.co.uk to arrange a Free no-obligation consultation.

Legislation Updates

Changes to how much Sponsors must now pay ‘skilled worker visa route’ workers

From 4 April 2024, the government introduced changes to the skilled worker visa route, which means

  • Sponsors must pay workers a minimum salary of £38,700
  • For those under 26, students, recent graduates or those in professional training, the minimum salary threshold drops to £30,960.
  • The rate is also reduced to £23,200 for specific healthcare or education jobs,
  • The government has also published an ‘immigration salary list’ of jobs where the threshold is reduced to 80 per cent of the usual rate.

Employers must be careful as:

  • To have a policy where they will not hire someone because they require a sponsor licence could lead to indirect discrimination claims that will require objective justification;
  • To proceed through the sponsorship route and hire sponsored staff on higher salaries than their existing workforce could lead to equal pay claims as well as discrimination claims.
  • Creating blanket bans on overseas recruitment could result in a legal challenge that their recruitment policies are discriminatory on grounds of race.

It should be noted that there is an existing ruling that cost is an insufficient justification for not recruiting from overseas.

Case Law

Account manager ‘not permitted to return to work’ after maternity leave and accused of ‘making up’ payments she was owed awarded £37k by tribunal

An employee with 19 years’ “unblemished service” who was “not permitted to return to work” after maternity leave and was accused of “making up” figures when her maternity payments were late and too low, has been awarded £37,310.05 for pregnancy and maternity discrimination, unfair dismissal and arrears of wages.

The ET heard that H had been working as an account manager when she became pregnant with her second child. She went on maternity leave and intended to return, but “was never permitted to return to work”. She was dismissed via email by the company director, with the reason stated as “gross misconduct” and “misappropriation of funds”, following her raising questions over the holiday pay she was owed and maternity pay which had been underpaid and paid late.

The ET stated “The lack of transparency, lack of any procedure and the timing of dismissal were all very suspicious. The claimant was on maternity leave not working, so how and when did she commit any alleged misconduct at work?”.  The ET held that, ultimately, the director “made unfavourable comments about the claimant because she was exercising her rights to maternity leave” and that “he was making the claimant’s maternity leave difficult for her so that she would be forced to leave”. Of the funds awarded, £10,000 was for injury to feelings.

Teenage baker who required trauma coach after being ‘bear hugged’ and ‘grabbed on the bottom’ by colleague awarded £31k by tribunal

A teenage baker whose colleague “put his hands on her body” in a “bear hug” and backed her into a corner has been awarded £31,410.91 by an ET for harassment and victimisation.

The ET ruled that the investigation into the incident by the company was “woefully inadequate” and that it “inexplicably and inappropriately” favoured the perpetrator as well as pressuring the claimant, who was 17 at the time, to “draw a line under matters and move on”.  Ultimately, the ET said the incident “had the effect or purpose of violating the claimant’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for her” and that her complaint was “swept under the rug without any action being taken”.  At the remedy hearings, it came to light that the baker had been seeing a trauma coach for 12 months. The ET stated: “It was a serious case with profound effects on the claimant, which have only begun to resolve themselves almost three years after the events in question, and with the claimant having to take medication for her mental health and have trauma coaching.”

The total amount awarded for injury to feelings was £25,409.36. The remaining £6,001.55 was awarded for financial losses following on from dismissal.

Training

Operational Managers are key to a Company’s success, and how they work with and manage their teams is an essential part of this.  Failing to provide them with the essential training they require will lead to more issues within the workplace.

We run a number of ‘1 to 1 HR Coaching for Managers’ modules, all of which are delivered remotely via Microsoft Teams:

  • Being an Effective Manager / Responsibilities of a Manager;
  • Dealing with Misconduct (Discipline), Poor Performance (Capability) and Grievances;
  • Managing Attendance / Sickness Absence;
  • Managing Performance / Developing People;
  • Dealing With Conflict;
  • Managing Recruitment;
  • Managing Investigations.

Each module is focussed on the key elements involved, and takes around 1½ hours, with Managers also completing a workbook containing a number of questions and scenarios which is then analysed and feedback provided to ensure an in-depth understanding of the subject(s).

More details on all of the above can be found on our website.

Employers must consider “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women in the workplace

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued the guidance to companies to clarify their legal obligations to women, warning that employers could be sued if they do not make “reasonable adjustments” for menopausal women in the workplace.  Menopause symptoms (which include hot flushes, brain fog or difficulty sleeping) can be a disability under UK law if they have a prolonged and “substantial” impact on a woman’s ability to carry out her normal daily activities.

The EHRC cited research showing that one in 10 women surveyed who worked during their menopause were forced to leave their job due to the symptoms.  Two-thirds of women between the ages of 40 and 60 experienced menopausal symptoms at work, which largely had a negative impact. Very few asked for adjustments during this time because they were concerned with the potential reaction, it added.

The guidance states that firms should consider taking measures such as letting women work from home, ventilating the workplace to lower its temperature, providing rest areas in offices or relaxing uniform policy to let them wear cooler clothes.  Failing to make these sorts of reasonable adjustments could amount to disability discrimination if a worker’s menopause symptoms are severe enough to be a disability, the EHRC states. It adds that taking disciplinary action against women for a menopause related-absence could amount to discrimination, and that language that ridicules someone’s symptoms could constitute harassment.

EHRC chairwoman said they were “concerned both by how many women report being forced out of a role due to their menopause-related symptoms and how many don’t feel safe enough to request the workplace adjustments”.  She added that employers “may not fully understand their responsibility to protect their staff going through the menopause”, and that the new guidance has been issued to provide advice on how they can support their staff.

The guidance can be seen here https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/guidance/menopause-workplace-guidance-employers.

Partner Services

We have long-term partnerships with key providers which enables us to provide other recommended services to our clients covering:

  • Financial Services;
  • Health Insurance and Staff Healthcare Benefits;
  • Health and Safety.

Visit our website to see full information on our partners and their services.