Your top 5 HR updates this week:

1. 129 applicants per HR vacancy among most competitive sectors in the UK 📈
2. Most businesses eager to embrace AI but skills gap hampers adoption, study finds 🤷‍♂️
3. Blog: Workplace romances: How do I Handle it? 💘
4. 27% of employees describe their financial situation as struggling or in crisis 💸⚡
5. Employers in the hospitality and leisure sector face surge tribunal claims - tips on handling grievances🤺

And in other news....Oasis was a blast, but today… is going to be the day to book your spot at our Annual Review of Employment Law 2025, Crowne Plaza, 13 Nov.

**If you have any difficulties accessing the article or resetting your password (if you haven’t already done so in 2025) please email hub@legal-island.com and we’ll be in touch with you as soon as possible.**

1. Case Law Reviews
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Public sector remote working drops dramatically
4. EasyJet offers ‘Taster Sessions’ to help tackle youth unemployment
5. CPS warns large organisations to prepare for new fraud offence
6. Lidl GB signs legal agreement with equality regulator to prevent sexual harassment
7. Just in Case You Missed It...
8. HR Developments
9. Health & Safety Developments
10. Employment News in the Media
11. GB Developments
12. Free Webinars This Month

Nayfeh v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2025] Case No: 8002162/2024

Summary Description: Dismissal unfair where there were procedural failings in relation to the disciplinary hearing including not testing the evidence of the individual who raised the accusation against the claimant.

Claimant: O Nayfeh

Respondent: Barclays Bank UK Plc

Practical Guidance for Employers: An interesting case about the way in which disciplinary processes should be conducted. The Tribunal acknowledged that it could be uncomfortable to test the evidence from someone who said they were left uncomfortable by comments made by a colleague.  That being said, the Tribunal makes it clear that it is required for fairness and to be able to properly investigate credibility especially when there are really only two key witnesses to the issue. The fact that there was a different testing of that evidence at the disciplinary hearing found that the dismissal was therefore unfair.

Read the Review in full: Nayfeh v Barclays Bank UK Plc [2025]

R (On the Application of Thomas) v Judicial Appointments Commission [2025] EWCA Civ 912 

Summary Description: Judicial review partially successful in relation to the recruitment process run by the Judicial Appointments Commission. Greater information should have been given in relation to the use of a statutory consultee.

Claimant: The Crown (on the Application of Thomas) 

Respondent: Judicial Appointments Commission 

Practical Guidance for Employers: A fairly niche case relating to judicial appointments and the statutory framework as it exists around it in England and Wales. Despite that niche there are some overarching aspects to be considered in terms of fairness that would be expected. To this end, the need to disclose aspects of the procedure and what will be considered was required as was the need to ensure that there could be some view on the negative material where it was going to be considered.  Whilst this is unlikely to have wide ramifications for recruitment generally it may be something that can be considered in reviewing existing practices.  

Read the Review in full: R (On the Application of Thomas) v Judicial Appointments Commission [2025]

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These case reviews were written by Jason Elliott BL.  NI Tribunal decisions are available on the OITFET website.

If you have any queries or wish to comment on the reports please feel free to contact Jason at: jasondelliott@outlook.com 

Jason Elliott was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2013 and is the Associate Head of School of Law at Ulster University. As a practising barrister, he has developed a largely civil practice representing individuals, companies and public bodies in litigation.  This covers a wide range of areas including personal injuries, wills and employment law. In terms of employment law, he has represented both applicants and respondents in the Industrial Tribunal.   At Ulster University, Jason lectures extensively on the civil areas of practise such as Equity and Trusts and delivers employment law lectures for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Remember: Our case law reviews are held in our case law section on our fully-searchable employment law hub website.

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HMRC brings in £2.5m consultants to advise on major cloud plans

HM Revenue and Customs has signed a multimillion-pound deal with a cloud consultancy to help shape a £500m-plus long-term project to close down ageing datacentres and move to a hyperscale cloud environment. The department has appointed an expert in Amazon Web Services offerings, Cloudscaler, to provide “technical advisory support for [its] datacentre exit programme” – but insists that the engagement will not focus on one vendor’s technology, and does not indicate an advantage for AWS in bidding for the half-a-billion-pound deal. Public Technology has more.

Most businesses eager to embrace AI but skills gap hampers adoption, study finds

Nearly half of employers feel unprepared to deploy the technology, with experts urging firms to offer targeted training and encourage staff to experiment reports People Management. 91 per cent) of firms say they are ready to adopt AI, but a third admit they do not have the expertise to implement it effectively, according to a study of 1,003 HR payroll and finance leaders by MHR. Read more here.

Could AI make in-person work a thing of the past?

As we continue to embrace the advantages of AI, a new report shows that some believe the technology will make physical offices obsolete. This article from Silicon Republic outlines why.

The New ChatGPT5 Reviewed (Part II)

In Part II of his Review, Barry Phillips explores what has changed in ChatGPT-5 both “front of house” and “behind the curtain.” From faster responses, fewer hallucinations and a bigger context window to new Settings features such as Google connectors, expanded language options, voice modes and personality customisation — Barry highlights how these developments could reshape everyday use of AI in HR.

You can also access the episode here.

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There has been a significant drop-off in remote and hybrid working in the public sector, according to data from software company Unit4. According to its latest State of the Digital Nation report for the public sector, only 15% of public sector employers in the UK are operating a fully remote working model, down from 37% in 2023. Almost half (49%) operate some form of hybrid model, a dramatic drop from 93% in 2023, the company found. However, almost a quarter (24%) say they struggle to recruit due to rising return-to-office mandates. Personnel Today has more.

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EasyJet has announced it will be launching a new cabin crew recruitment drive across its fleet. The new initiative Flight Paths, is targeting young Brits ‘not in employment, education or training’ (NEET) to help their careers take off. The airline is set to recruit nearly 1,000 new cabin crew for 2026 as part of its annual recruitment drive, and is encouraging young adults and school leavers to consider applying. NI Travel News has more on this.

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Looming law change will make big business, charities and other organisations responsible for preventing fraud committed by employees. More from Civil Service World.

Does your staff need training on fraud awareness at work? We've got your covered with our new eLearning course.....

Fraud can have serious and far-reaching consequences for any organisation, including financial losses, reputational harm, penalties and even criminal convictions. In Ireland, the rate of fraud is rising at an unprecedented pace, affecting organisations across all sectors. Legal Island’s Fraud Awareness at Work eLearning course is designed to address this growing risk. It raises awareness among employees by helping them recognise the warning signs of fraud and understand how to detect, prevent and respond appropriately. The course is tailored specifically to Irish law and provides comprehensive compliance training for all staff. Try out the free demo today.

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Lidl GB has signed a legal agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. The news comes after an employment tribunal found that the supermarket had failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of a young female employee by a staff member. The employment tribunal found that managers at the Lidl store where the claimant worked were unaware of the company’s anti-harassment policy. Furthermore, no risk assessments had been carried out, and Lidl GB had relied on employees to raise complaints before taking any action. More from The Retail Bulletin.

How Britain's new sexual harassment laws are rocking the workplace

New laws about inappropriate behaviour put the onus on employers to do everything in their power to stop it - that may mean office romances become a thing of the past reports i News.

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Workplace romances: How do I Handle it?

Emma Doherty, Associate in the Employment team at Tughans LLP looks at this month's concern: 

“Following our summer party, we have received several complaints that our CEO is having a romantic relationship with a colleague. I am concerned that this is potentially gross misconduct which, as an HR director, I cannot fairly investigate because I report to them. How do I handle it?”

Read her guidance here.

G is for Growth through People: From Resistance to Resilience in Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often seen as strategic milestones - moments of opportunity, expansion, and potential. But despite the financial models, synergies promised, and bold growth projections, the success of a deal often hinges on something far less tangible - people. More from Emer Hinphey, Partner at AAB.

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Workplace equity is not optional: Why inclusion requires more than policy

Workplace equity demands more than policy. Learn how to proactively dismantle barriers and build a culture where everyone feels included using guidance from HRD Connect. More here.

Managing employee grievances

Employers in the hospitality and leisure sector are facing a surge in employment tribunal claims, and grievances in that sector are more likely to lead to tribunal claims. This could be a sign of a failure to get to grips with grievances, but that doesn’t have to be the way. There are some essential tips and advice all employers need to follow when dealing with grievances. Business & Accountancy Daily has more on this.

Would you like to know more about managing conflict before it escalates? Fun, fiery, and totally unmissable - Scott Alexander of Alexander Mediation Plus shows you how to tackle workplace conflict this October.

HR roles now among the most competitive in the UK

Funding Circle revealing that HR is now the most oversubscribed job sector in the UK, with an estimated 129 applicants per vacancy. For small businesses, especially those without dedicated recruitment teams, this surge in competition is making it increasingly challenging to hire the right talent quickly. HR Director outlines the most competitive job sectors in the UK right now. Read more here.

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What measures are employers putting in place to assist staff with financial difficulties?

More than a quarter (27%) of employees describe their financial situation as struggling or in crisis, according to Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth’s August 2025 research. As a result, some may look towards their employer for some financial support to combat this issue. So, what measures can organisations put in place to support staff experiencing financial difficulties? Employee Benefits provides guidance.

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A female police officer has won more than £40,000 after she was told she was a 'problem' because of a condition which stopped her from working in cold weather. PC Denise Gemmell was 'ambushed' and 'attacked' by her Inspector in a meeting that left her in tears after she explained her health condition prevented her from working in 'inclement' conditions, an employment tribunal found. PC Gemmell says she had 'no choice' but to phone in sick during winter months because snowy and icy conditions aggravate her neuralgia - a health condition which causes intense nerve pain. The Daily Mail has more.

A shift leader who worked at JD Wetherspoon for 22 years has won his claim for unfair dismissal after he was sacked without notice for mistakenly giving 50% staff discount to a colleague. The judge at Cardiff employment tribunal said “there was no weighing of the actual seriousness” of Peter Castagna-Davies’ actions when he was sacked for breaching company policy. Castagna-Davies applied a 50% discount for kitchen associate Noah Gardiner. During investigations, it was later found that Gardiner took the food home. Witnesses for Wetherspoon spoke of a zero-tolerance attitude towards abuse of the staff discount policies, the cost of which is significant to the pub chain. More from Personnel Today. 

A security manager at the BBC won a payout of more than £30,000 after he was sacked for spending 12 hours studying CCTV to see who left a mess in the kitchen, an employment tribunal heard. Mohammad Rakib worked at the BBC Wales headquarters on behalf of the security contractor Mitie, but was sacked for gross misconduct for his “superfluous” use of CCTV. Mr Rakib was accused of breaching data protection rules by looking through CCTV without having the correct licence reports Yahoo news. More here.

A bird charity dismissed a conservation officer at a nature reserve after a “woeful tale of unfairness in process”, a judge has ruled. Nigel Middleton worked at the Hawk and Owl Trust for 21 years until he was suddenly made redundant in 2023, sparking concerns he was booted out for whistleblowing. The row has culminated in an employment tribunal, which concluded that he was dismissed unfairly due to “procedural errors and a lack of valid reasons”. Lynn News has more on this story.

A midwife who was reported to her regulator and the counter-terrorism group Prevent by her former employer is taking her case to the employment tribunal. Fatimah Mohamied is bringing a tribunal claim against Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CWHT) after it referred her to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and Prevent a year after she left her post. The hospital made the referrals following a direct complaint about her online activity from UK Lawyers for Israel, reports Personnel Today.

Billionaire Elon Musk and his social media firm X have reached a tentative settlement with former employees who had sued for $500m (£373m) in severance pay. The parties reported the deal in a court filing on Wednesday, jointly requesting the US appeals court in San Francisco to postpone an upcoming hearing to allow time to settle the paperwork. Full story from BBC. 

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Record salaries for UK chief executives as pay rises for third year in a row

The bosses of Britain’s largest listed companies took home record high pay packets for the third successive year, according to a report. Analysis by the High Pay Centre found the record set in the last financial year means the average FTSE 100 chief executive is now paid 122 times the salary of the average full-time UK worker, reports the Guardian.

Review of the whistleblowing framework in Great Britain

The UK government’s new whistleblowing report reveals gaps in PIDA protections, tribunal fairness and workplace culture, plus key reforms needed. HR Director has more.

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Employment Law at 11

📅 Friday 12th September 2025

🕒 11am to 11.45am

📍 Live online | Free to attend

Employment Law at 11 returns on 12th September!

Register here.

Tell your HR colleagues and register individually or get your HR team around the computer and use the webinars as monthly group learning opportunities. Ask any questions (on employment law) and hear the answers live or catch up later when we upload both a recording and transcript of the discussion. Or catch up on Spotify, Amazon or Apple Music while you're on the go!

NOTE: – Send your questions in advance to gosia@legal-island.com. Anonymity assured.

Please note that the employment law matters discussed in this webinar apply primarily to Northern Ireland. 

Enjoy the long weekend!

Legal Island

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