Ask the Expert – Can hotdesking be discriminatory?
Many businesses are coping with a reduced return to the office by decreasing office sizes and introducing hotdesking policies. This can decrease costs to the business. In theory, the office will be less cluttered and staff will engage and communicate more with a different range of colleagues.
Ask the Expert – Does an employee have to disclose their disability?
It is estimated that almost 20% of the working population in the UK are disabled. Many of these individuals do not disclose their disabilities at work because they fear being unsupported or discriminated against.
Ask the Expert – Investigating a complaint against the wishes of the complainant
One of our employees has come to HR and stated that they are being sexually harassed by a colleague.
Ask the Expert – Anonymous witness statements
An employee who has been with us for several years has been accused of bullying members of their team. The allegations are serious and could result in dismissal.
Ask the Expert – Absence history and recruitment
We are currently recruiting for a post in our admin team and have invited candidates to interview. Our normal practice is to request references in advance of interviews, and as part of our reference request we ask for their absence history.
Ask the Expert – Time off for dependants
We have an employee who has worked for us for just over a year. Over the course of the year the employee has had a high number of intermittent absences because of her son being unwell.
Ask the Expert – Sending employees home sick
We operate in a safety-critical manufacturing environment. Our employees are required to operate heavy machinery, and if they are unable to do so there is significant risk to the production process.
Ask the Expert – Protected conversations
Employers who have experience of attempting to reach a mutual agreement with an employee to terminate their employment will most likely be familiar with the idea of the ‘without prejudice’ (“WP”) conversation.
Ask the Expert – Training fees agreement
We have recently undertaken our annual appraisal process and a number of employees have asked to be sent on courses as part of their ongoing learning and development.
Ask the Expert – Young workers
I run a restaurant and am currently recruiting new employees. I have received applications from candidates aged 16 and 17 and I’m considering taking them on, but I’m unsure whether I should apply different rules to them or just treat them like everyone else.