People Smart HR

⚖ Tribunal Tale of the Week ⚖ Worker who accidentally called customer a “twat” wins tribunal. Ha, any case that starts with this as a heading must be an interesting one! A part-time administrator was unfairly dismissed after she mistakenly sent an email to a customer describing him as a “twat”, a tribunal ruled. The employee was dismissed in 2023 when she replied to a complaint email from a customer rather than forwarding it to her colleague.  Thereafter the customer’s wife threatened to go to the press and share the incident on social media. This led to a disciplinary hearing and the Claimant was dismissed for gross misconduct. The Employment Judge ruled she was unfairly dismissed and “the disciplinary process and the dismissal were a sham designed to placate the customer”. In June 2023, the Claimant received an email from a customer who had made numerous complaints about his order and wanted a full refund. The Claimant intended to forward the email to her colleague with a request to change his appointment, in which she said “he’s a twat so it doesn’t matter if you can’t”. Instead, she accidentally replied to the email from the customer. Shortly after, the customer’s wife rang her and said “Is there any reason why you called my husband a twat?” 😲 The Claimant's supervisor apologised to the wife for what had happened, and advised that the Claimant would be reprimanded. She also asked the wife asked how she would be compensated for the mistake.  The wife threatened to go to the press and share the incident on social media. The supervisor told her she would investigate the matter further.  The tribunal noted that the supervisor “investigated” the matter on an unspecified date by looking at the email and “deciding that based on the seriousness of the behaviour and the risk of a serious detriment to the company a disciplinary hearing had to take place”. The Judge noted, however, that the supervisor did not speak to the Claimant or her colleague, who overheard the phone call with the customer’s wife. The supervisor also did not take any notes of the investigation.  The Judge added that what she thought had instead happened was that the supervisor dismissed the Claimant to placate the customer and his wife and stop them from broadcasting the complaint via social media. Therefore, the Claimant's dismissal was unfair, the Judge ruled, and she was awarded £5,214.67 for loss of earnings and for loss of statutory rights. The reward was reduced by 10% due to the Claimants' fault for being “careless” and “improper” by sending the email. Too good not to share, what a case!

⚖ Tribunal Tale of the Week ⚖ A worker who called his colleague a “fucking m**g” during an argument in a Royton-based office was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has ruled. The judge heard that there was a “lawless” environment in the office, in Royton, Greater Manchester, and that swearing is more acceptable in the North. A delivery driver at a wholesale company swore at his female colleague during a conversation about doughnuts and weight loss. The female colleague later reported him to management claiming that it left her feeling "humiliated and anxious." The delivery driver was later dismissed for verbally abusing his colleague. The Judge agreed that “swearing should not be acceptable in a workplace” but that swearing in the workplace was more acceptable in northern England. He ruled that the employee was unfairly dismissed as there was a “significant amount of banter” in the office. “I am satisfied there was a ‘toxic culture’ in the office; it was ‘lawless’ with no real enforcement of expected workplace norms by managers. Indeed, managers were part of the problem by most accounts,” he ruled. 🤔 What can small business employers learn from this? ✅ Remember to always carry out full and impartial investigations and never draw conclusions based upon the emotions of others involved ✅ Employers are responsible for setting the tone, standard and culture within the business. Employees cannot be expected to know what the boundaries are if some inappropriate behaviours are permitted and others are not ✅ If cultural concerns are raised, chat to employees and involve them in finding the solution ✅ Have clear and robust policies in place that set out workplace expectations and consequences ✅ Beware of sanctions that are too severe; often employers can feel pressured to jump to a gross misconduct outcome if another employee has been impacted by a situation. We need to be mindful of the rights of all employees, not just the potential victim.

🎃 Halloween? We think the Government's budget statement was way scarier 🎃 🖤 As a small business employer, here are some key points to note: 😱 New rates for employee pay Statutory pay usually increases year on year, but April 2025 will see some significant changes that small business owners will need to prepare for: National Living Wage (21 and over): £12.21 18-20 Year Old Rate: £10.00 16-17 Year Old Rate: £7.55 Apprentice Rate: £7.55 😱 Staff Contracts As the budget announcement means adjusting employee pay, we know this means adjustments to employee T&Cs, so pencil in some time to issue written contractual amendments to every employee affected. 😱 National Insurance Rises Currently, employers pay National Insurance (NI) on staff earnings at a rate of 13.8%. This will rise to 15%. Plus, the threshold employers start paying NI on a worker's earnings will drop from £9100 to £5000, so there will definitely be more employers paying more in NI contributions. This presents challenges for small business owners as it becomes more costly to hire staff. The silver lining is that the government will also increase employment allowance from £5000 to £10500 in a bid to support smaller businesses. 🖤 The Chancellor also reiterated that the government will protect working people "from unfair dismissal, safeguard them from bullying in the workplace, and improve their access to paternity and maternity leave"- more to follow on this soon but it's fair to say that we can expect some further HR changes over the next few months. Exciting! 🎃 If you're looking for some non-scary HR support, please reach out to us here at People Smart HR 🎃 📧 [email protected] ☎ 07543992897

Tribunal Tale of the Week ⚖ DPD driver wins £20k after colleagues gossip about flexible working An employee of the delivery company DPD was awarded £20,000 in compensation after colleagues shared details of his flexible working arrangement and spread gossip. The employee requested to work four days a week, two months ahead of the birth of his child. He learned that the company's administration had shared details of his new working pattern without his consent, which caused colleagues to gossip and make comments about him working less hours. The tribunal ruled that this was sex harassment and a breach of confidence, as they decided that a woman who changed her hours would not have been subjected to similar behaviour after having a baby. The employee raised a grievance at work about his treatment, but not all of his points were upheld. He subsequently resigned, claiming he felt he had no option but to do so. The tribunal ruled out that this was unfair dismissal, as he had not been employed for two years.  Judge Bradford agreed, however, that the gossip about his working hours and comments about his day off made him feel “very uncomfortable”, and that this was likely to have been harassment related to his sex, as “there is unlikely to have been gossip if a female changed their hours or working pattern to look after their baby”.  The Judge also noted that the gossip had the effect of creating a hostile or humiliating environment, though it was likely not the colleagues’ intent. The tribunal ruled that there was a causal link between the employee's resignation and harassment he experienced, and awarded him £10,620.48 for loss of earnings, and £9,706.67 in injury to feelings. ❓ What can we learn from this? ➡ Banter, gossiping and joking are all capable of being conduct that constitutes bullying, harassment, and discrimination. The fact that a comment was said in 'banter' is not a defence in a tribunal claim. ➡ Comments that do not have the intent of harassing employees can still be interpreted as such. ➡ If a flexible working arrangement impacts other colleagues then they may need to be informed of the actual flexible working pattern. BUT this does not mean that the reasons lying behind the request should be disclosed. Employees are entitled to confidentiality with flexible working requests. ➡ Claims of sex discrimination can be brought by people of all genders, and flexible working requests can be made by people of all genders. Step away from the stereotyping.

📝 Back to school 🤓 Last week, I was delighted (and intimidated) to be invited to attend a careers fair at a local secondary school to talk to the Year 9 students about HR. Teenagers get a bit of a hard time, but I found them all to be incredibly polite, eager to learn, and engaged. They also had a LOT of personality and energy, which I love 💜 I think I managed to convince some of them that HR is pretty cool. This is my, 'I love my job' face 👇 #hrprofessionals #hrconsulting #employmentrights #careersfair

📢 The law is changing! #sexualharassment #employeerelations #employmentlaw #hrconsulting

People Smart HR will be exhibiting at the Bracknell Business Expo on Thursday 21 November 2024 taking place at The Coppid Beech in Bracknell. It's a free business show for SMEs in Berkshire and we'd love you to drop by our stand to find out how we can help you and your business. Come and visit us on Stand 16 from 10am-2pm. To register for tickets go to: https://lnkd.in/e_esuTjd   #BracknellExpo #BracknellBusiness #Bracknell

Tribunal Tale of the Week ⚖ ♂ Male firefighters took ‘scenic route’ to ogle women, sex harassment tribunal hears... ♀ Yep seriously, wait, it gets better.... A female firefighter won her sexual harassment case after her male colleagues regularly would take the ‘scenic route’ back to their station to ogle women. The tribunal heard they referred to this activity as a “f***y run” or a “d**k run” if a female firefighter was present, which one member of staff said was “for inclusivity purposes.” These 'runs' would involve the firefighters discussing whether they would have sex with passing women. The claimant told the tribunal she experienced numerous instances of casual sexism, including sexual images and jokes on a WhatsApp group and making sexual comments. The claimant was successful in her claim for sexual harassment, with compensation yet to be decided. Sadly, this isn't the first claim of this nature within the emergency forces, and misogyny is a genuine problem within these heavily males dominated services. It's believed to be worsened and complexified by the intense stresses of the profession and the hierarchical structures that place significant emphasis on rank and seniority. Individuals can be intimidated by seniority deemed to have power due to bravery, and it makes it more daunting to challenge authority or address any biases. To the point where confronting misogynistic behaviours is then viewed as insubordination. Research from a gender equality charity found at least 40% of women experience sexual harassment during the course of their career. This number rises to 68% for disabled women and 68% for LGBTQ+ employees. 📜 It seems like a good time to pop in a reminder about the changes in the Worker Protection Bill, taking effect from 26 October... ❌ From this date, all businesses (regardless of size or sector) will need to implement measures to actively PREVENT sexual harassment in the workplace rather than merely redress it after the fact. Need some support? Get in touch 🤝 [email protected] #hrconsulting #sexualharassmentatwork #employmentlaw #workerprotectionbill

💛 World Mental Health Day 2024 #NoMindLeftBehind

🔍 When searching for the perfect outsourced HR consultant to support your business, remember to ask these key questions: ⁉ How long is the contract? Will I be tied into a 5 year fixed contract that I can't get out of without hefty charges? What if my business needs change, how do your services adapt? ⁉ Will I always get to chat to the same HR professional each time I have a question or issue? Will we build a relationship, and will you get to know my business so that the advice you offer meets our needs? ⁉ Is the monthly fee inclusive of call-out charges, hosting meetings with employees, and emergency issues? Will you charge me sneaky extras? ⁉ When we call or email you, how quickly will someone respond? ⁉ Will you build a rapport with our managers and offer advice to them too? Employers, don't settle for less 🌟