Request for Equal Pay - How Do I Handle It?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 13/11/2019 Tughans on employment law and difficult workplace scenarios. For November 2019, we have asked the employment team at Tughans Solicitors to provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries. We call this feature “How do I handle it?” The articles are aimed at HR profess...

Bringing an IT service back in-house – How do I handle it?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 15/10/2019 In this month’s 'How do I Handle It' Jack Balmer, Solicitor within the Employment Team at Tughans Solicitors considers an Employer’s obligation in relation to bringing back in-house an outsourced out-of-hours IT service. This month’s problem concerns: I am an HR manager at an organisation which re...

Offering Alternative Employment in a Redundancy Situation – How do I handle it?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 17/09/2019 In this month’s 'How do I Handle It' Rachel Richardson, Director with Tughans Solicitors considers an Employer’s obligation to offer suitable alternative work to an employee at risk of redundancy and discuss the factors that determine what is meant by ‘suitable’. This month’s problem concerns: I a...

Are ‘Difficult’ Employees in Breach of Contract?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 20/08/2019 We have an employee who is disabled. Having sought advice from Occupational Health, we have made reasonable adjustments. However, every time we attempt to interact with this employee, he is difficult and refuses to engage. He says he will only meet with us in the presence of his union representativ...

How to Avoid Discrimination When Enhancing Family-Related Employment Benefits

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 09/07/2019 "I am HR Manager at a company which provides enhanced maternity pay. A male employee who is about to take shared parental leave has asked for confirmation that he will also receive enhanced pay. I want to treat employees equally, but I’m unsure of the legal position. How do I handle it?" Your issue...

Returning to work from long-term sick leave

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 18/06/2019 In this months article, Patricia Rooney, Partner in the Employment Team at Tughans, addresses a query regarding payment for employees returning early from sickness absence. This month’s problem concerns: “We have an employee who has been on long term sick leave and wishes to return to work. We a...

Enhanced Redundancy Payments – How Do I Handle It?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 20/05/2019 For May 2019, we have asked the employment team at Tughans Solicitors to provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries. We call this feature “how do I handle it?” In this article, Jack Balmer, Associate Solicitor at Tughans, offers advice on how employers who wish...

Increases in NMW and Pension Contributions: How Do I Handle It?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 16/04/2019 This month’s problem concerns: “I have responsibility for human resources/finance functions in a small business. I am aware of the increase in the minimum wage, and a rise in contributions under auto-enrolment arrangements. These additional amounts are causing extreme financial pressure on the org...

Political Debates around Brexit in the Workplace: How Do I Handle It?

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 25/03/2019 This month’s problem concerns: “As an HR Manager, I try to keep the workplace free from any political debates which might be controversial or offensive. With Brexit looming, conversations between staff have become heated and I’m concerned that someone will cross the line and act in a discriminatory...

The Good Work Plan: Employment Law Reforms

Posted in: How do I handle it NI on 19/02/2019 This month’s problem concerns: “I am a HR Manager for a company with sites throughout the UK. I am concerned that the Good Work Plan was issued in December 2018 and that there are some changes which will come into effect in April. What can I do to prepare for these changes in our workforce?” The G...