Employee caught breaking lockdown rules on social media, can employer require a COVID test from them before returning to work?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 09/04/2021 Could it be reasonable, Seamus, for an employer to require an employee to get a COVID test before returning to work where they have been told that the employee was breaking lockdown restrictions over the weekend and it's been reported on social media or seen on social media that that employee's bee...

Should the finding in the Asda equal pay case apply to separate but arguably sister companies?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 09/04/2021 "With regard to the recent Asda case, if an organisation has retail and other divisions including warehousing but the structure is such that they are separate companies, could the Asda finding apply to employees in this separate, but arguably, sister companies?" Seamus: Yeah, well just maybe a bit ...

Making reasonable adjustments for mask exempt employees - refusal to work in individual workspace

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/03/2021 Our policy is that all employees must wear masks while at work. One employee cannot wear a mask and we've created an individual workspace for them as a way to keep them and others safe. However, they refuse to work in this space citing loneliness, and have gone off work on stress. How can we handle...

How should intoxicants in the workplace and remote working be dealt with?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/03/2021 In relation to intoxicants in the workplace and people working remotely, how should it be dealt with?Particularly as the person we have a suspicion of, I think it says, is not face-to-face with the employer. Or sorry, that's wrong. Particularly as the person with the suspicion. So there's a manager...

What is the recommended period for training on equality and diversity matters?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/03/2021 What is the recommended period for training on equality and diversity matters? Seamus: Yeah. Well, this is an interesting case. This was an Employment Appeal Tribunal case, so it has some weight in it that it's not the decision of first instance. But the basics of the case were around race discrimi...

Are you able to make people redundant whilst they're on the extension to the furlough scheme?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/03/2021 Can you explain what the extension of furlough scheme means and are we able if it's necessary to make people redundant whilst they're on the extension to the furlough scheme? Seamus: Well, look, the good news that we received this week from the budget, there was a bit of a leak of the extension of ...

What are the rules surrounding training of staff on furlough?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/02/2021 What are the rules surrounding training of staff on furlough? Is it reasonable for an employer to request employees to complete training on new systems, etc., on their site whilst they're on furlough? Seamus: Yes, my understanding is that it's always been the position that you could engage in train...

GB registered company with Northern Ireland office – which jurisdictional employment law applies?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/02/2021 What is the situation regarding a GB registered company that has a Northern Ireland office? As I believe, Northern Ireland is still under EU employment law, and GB is under UK law. I don't know if that's quite the case, but here, Seamus? Seamus: Look, the basics are that if you have an employment c...

When can LIFO be used in a redundancy selection in Northern Ireland?

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/02/2021 A recent case criticised the employer for using LIFO as a criterion for selection. When can LIFO be used in a redundancy selection, if at all, in Northern Ireland?Let's look for Northern Ireland first. I know you're going to bring in the GB situation and maybe Rolls Royce and so on, but what about ...

Office relocation and returning to the workplace after a period of remote working

Posted in: Seamus Says - Employment Law Discussion on 05/02/2021 If your office has been moved and adds on over an hour travel time daily and you have been working remotely for 12 months, should you have to return to the office? Should there be any financial payment made by the employer to accommodate the loss of time/additional cost of travel and parking?So pre...