A team session for Emerson HR on Psychological Safety and the upcoming sexual harassment legislation changes.

Pilkington UK Ltd v Jones has just made its way through the employment appeal tribunal and is an interesting case that highlights the importance of a solid investigation. Maeve Vickery,…

The Fire Brigades Union has just won it's appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. The case has a couple of really interesting points for employers in regards to the employment relationship, Suzanne and Stephen cover what we can learn in this short video. 

Suzanne updates us on the latest information regarding Carer's leave and new acts.

The Vista team walk quickfire through the fundamentals of ensuring your Redundancy process is a fair one.

Stephanie Davies runs through the details of this interesting case and what we can learn from it in this short video.

Suzanne Pipe runs through the details of this interesting case and what we can learn from it in this short video.

Danielle provides an update on the latest detail we have in relation to the change in legislation regarding Fit Notes. 

Stephen Foster spends some time looking at where we are in the latest holiday pay saga. 

Investigating claims of sexual harassment can be complex and particularly sensitive. We got together with Abayomi Alemoru, a high profile investigator working with British Cycling, Board level NHS and PLC's to discuss how to manage sensitive claims.

Lesley Bovington and Stephen Foster discuss the return to the workplace following the Covid-19 pandemic. What does this mean legally for Airbus, and what should we be thinking about doing in order to help our colleagues return? 

The news is rife with the announcement that P&O Ferries have sacked 800 workers without notice. Stephen takes a quick look at what's going on at the organisation and what employment law lessons we can learn.

Lots of our clients have been asking about recording vaccination data and GDPR. Its an interesting question, so we spent some time with Suzanne Pipe and Claire Rosney to answer…

The Government has announced that firms with more than 50 staff members will now be eligible for COVID testing in their workplace. What issues do employers need to consider before…

As the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination continues, it raises an interesting question for employers. Can employers make the vaccination a requirement of their workforce? We got together with Stephen…

What are the key things to think about when managing an influx of post-Covid 19 flexible working requests? Abayomi Alemoru, Director of Legal Practice & Investigation Services at Vista, who…

What are the things we need to think about when running a remote disciplinary hearing? The legal requirements can be boiled down to this formula: Fair Reason + Fair Procedure…

Here’s our technique for diagnosing performance problems in your team when working remotely. It will help your managers diagnose what might be affecting the performance of their team and identify…

This month we are looking at the tribunal case of Uddin v London Borough of Ealing. This case was heard by the EAT, where it was considered whether an employee…

The case of Uddin v London Borough of Ealing serves as a good reminder of the responsibilities of an investigator. Vicky and Luke discuss the case.

It’s an 84 page document, but we have summarised the most important points for you in this short video.

Stephen Foster answers a series of FAQ’s about the employment tribunal process. We cover; what to do when your witness has left the business, the risks associated with having a…

Royal Mail v Jhuti presents an interesting case on a topic that we have seen in two or three cases recently – Whistleblowing.

Claire Rosney discusses the learning points for the Airbus team from the recent case of City of London Police v Geldart.

Stephen Foster talks us through a recent case from the ECJ concerning holiday pay and carry over.

Tim Cross talks us through this TUPE case which could put a cat amongst the pigeons.

ACAS have released some new guidance on Menopause in the Workplace. Tim Cross talks us through the guidance and why it’s so important to raise awareness of the condition in this short video.

Stephen Foster looks at the recent case of Harrison v Aryman – and in particular reminds us of the limits to protected conversations.

The case of Base Childrenswear v Otshudi recently went to the Court of Appeal. Claire Rosney talks us through the decisions from the Tribunal, and what we can learn from them.

Abi Alemoru focusses on the case of Raj v Capita Business Services and whether a massage from a manager was sexual harassment or not.

Claire Rosney discusses whether vegetarianism and veganism is protected under The Equality Act following the case of Conisbee v Crossley Farms.

Often employees think that by getting themselves signed off sick they can avoid disciplinary proceedings. As HR professionals, we know that this is not necessarily the case. Here’s our top…

Probationary periods and sickness absence are not two ingredients that make for a smooth employment relationship. Whether employers can dismiss during probation due to sickness is a question that arises…

Senior Employment Lawyer at Vista, Claire Rosney answers a frequently asked question from Vista HQ: Do employers have to offer an alternative role to a disabled employee, or can they…

Do you have to pay an employee on a phased return full pay? Suzanne Pipe discusses in this short video.

Managing an ill health situation where an employee says they are too ill to talk, or attend meetings requires a careful and considered approach from managers and HR teams. Suzanne…

Can an agency worker use the AWR to insist on the same hours as a permanent employee? The Court of Appeal has looked at this issue in the case of Kocur v Royal Mail. Claire Rosney covers the case in this short video.

This is a very interesting case covering covert recordings. Chris MacNaughton talks us through the key aspects of Phoenix House v Stockman.

Tim Cross talks the ways in which employer can reduce employment tribunal awards.

In the case of Heskett v Secretary of State for Justice, employees were hot under the collar when a change to probation officers’ pay-scales meant that younger workers took longer to get to the top of the scale and were paid less than their older colleagues. Here’s the full case and the learnings we can take from it, with Claire Rosney.

Claire Rosney looks at the case of Baldeh v Churches Housing Association, where Ms Baldeh was dismissed over concerns about her performance and behaviour. At her appeal hearing she said that her behaviour was caused by depression. When she was dismissed, she brought a claim of discrimination arising from disability.

Many of you have told us that harmonising hr policies is on your list for the coming year, so we thought you might be interested in what we think are…

Article 5 of the GDPR states that personal data shall be kept no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it is being processed. Understandably many HR teams…

Once you have a compliant ballot, and the Union has gone through all the prescribed rules and requirements, you need to build a strategic framework in terms of your response.…

As an employer, if you are confident that the strike isn’t compliant and that the trade union haven’t got legal immunity from the strike, there are various options to consider.…

As we know, industrial relations can enable an organisations progress but also impede it or even block and cause harm. In this video series we run through how best to…

Lots of value can come from introducing the right HR policies into a business at the right time. Organisations who ‘get it right’ in terms of the tone, culture and…

Dignity at work is a complex and emotional topic and has become one of the toughest training challenges for Learning and Development professionals to tackle. We’ve developed a communication strategy…

Karnis and Tim discuss three GDPR tasks that need to be top of HR’s agenda before 25th May 2018.

On the horizon of World Cup season, rather than focussing on the football we look at how HR professionals can manage their football fans during the tournament.

The case of Hextall vs Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police has raised serious questions around enhanced maternity pay, and shared parental pay. In this video Darren asks Karnis all there…

Employment tribunal claims have risen by 90% since the abolition of employment tribunal fees in July 2017. The rise has led to a new ‘frequently asked question’ here at Vista;…

Tim Cross, Vista’s Director of Employment and Legal Affairs talks us through when Section 188 applies.

Let’s face it, no employer wants to lose an employment tribunal. Abi Alemoru, Director of Litigation at Vista spends 2 minutes taking employers through the key ways to get a…

Abi, our Director of Litigation answers your top questions about the employment tribunal.

As a transferor in a TUPE situation, it might be unclear what your obligations are. Tim answers a couple of key questions on this topic.

If you find yourself in the role of transferee in a TUPE situation, it’s time to think commercially about the new relationship(s) you are inheriting. Tim, Director of Employment and…

Try not to be fooled by your colleagues (even if its all of them!) saying that TUPE doesn’t apply for this new contract. We’ve seen plenty of situations where everyone…

So, you’re thinking about suspending an employee. Before you send them off on a paid holiday, it’s important to ensure suspension is the right way to go. Suzanne Pipe, Employment…

In Hextall vs Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police the Claimant tried and failed to extend the definition of sex discrimination to establish a right to enhanced shared parental pay. Despite convincing the Employment Appeal Tribunal that there was potential for an indirect discrimination claim when employers enhance maternity pay but not shared parental pay, Mr Hextall was unable to persuade the Court of Appeal. Suzanne reviews the case and what it means for Airbus in this video.

Vista’s employment lawyers provide redundancy advice to our clients regularly, so, we spent an afternoon on the sofa with Tim Cross, Vista’s Director of Employment and Legal Affairs, and asked…

The case of ICTS v Visram deals with the tricky issue of a medical capability dismissal in a case where the employee has a contractual entitlement to permanent health insurance. View the full case in the May edition of InView for Airbus.

When can an employer be vicariously liable for the acts of employees? In Shelbourne v Cancer Research UK the High Court held that the employer was not liable when one employee injured another on the dance floor. Abi Alemoru explains what implications this case may have for the Airbus team.

The case of CCOO v Deutsche Bank was featured in March’s edition of InView for Airbus, and looked at whether organisations were required to keep records of daily working time. At the time we had an opinion from the Advocate General, however we have an update from The European Court of Justice. Claire talks us through it here. An interesting opinion from the advocate General on working time records in the case of CCOO v Deutsche Bank.

Suzanne takes us through the well publicised case of Agoreyo v London Borough of Lambeth where the Court of Appeal looked at the decision to suspend a teacher and whether it resulted in the employee being constructively dismissed.

Claire discusses the case of Beattie v Conderrat where the connection between a final written warning and a subsequent dismissal was examined. She talks us through what the Airbus team can take from the case.

The case of Spaceman v ISS Mediclean also looked at the employer’s reasoning in relation to a dismissal. In this case it was a short service dismissal, where the reason can be key as it will determine what if any claims the employee has the right to bring. Mr Spaceman claimed that he had been dismissed because he had asserted a statutory right (an automatically unfair reason for dismissal). However, the EAT did not agree and his claim failed on the grounds he had complained to his employer about something he believed they were going to do rather than something they had done. This could not amount to a breach of a statutory right as it had not yet happened.

In Ibrahim v HCA, the employer challenged a whistleblowing claim on the grounds that the disclosure did not meet the public interest test and the EAT agreed that the employee had not fulfilled that aspect of the test. Although, it is worth remembering that seemingly ‘personal’ disclosures have been held to be in the public interest so employers should proceed with caution when considering disclosures that could be protected.

The law of disability discrimination is regularly challenged. In Lamb v The Garrard Academy, the Employment Appeal Tribunal looked at when constructive knowledge of a disability will arise in practice. The employer in this case had not had confirmation that the employee’s condition would amount to a disability. However, the EAT held that the employer was in possession of facts which should have led them to ask more questions. Had they referred Ms Lamb to OH, it would have been confirmed that her condition was a disability. As a result, the employer was deemed to have constructive knowledge. This case demonstrates that failure to ask obvious questions and/or seek medical advice will not enable an employer to plead ignorance or avoid obligations in relation to disabled employees.

Can an employer dismiss an employee for capability reasons when they are contractually entitled to long term disability benefits? No, not fairly, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has said in Awan v ICTS.

Is it fair to dismiss an employee in the transport industry who fails a drugs test? Not always, said the employment tribunal recently. Ball v First Essex Buses looked at the range of reasonable responses test in conduct dismissals and shows how an employer can come unstuck even in seemingly clear-cut cases.