theHRDIRECTOR INTERVIEW
This issue we speak to David Smith
HR Director for LV=

FEATURES

HR Technology
Management Development
Time Management

FEATURING

Wayne Cartensen, Capgemini
Colin Day, iCMIS
Bob Gibbon, National Skills Academy
Cathy Monaghan, PES
Phil Hooper, Ericsson
Midland HR
Investors in People
CASE STUDY: Orange and CM Group
CASE STUDY: Liberty Living and R&A
CASE STUDY: Global Integration

Legal Updates

Our Legal Updates are supplied by theHRDIRECTOR Editorial Panellist, Makbool Javaid, partner, Simons Muirhead & Burton. They comprise Employment Law and Diversity Briefings, both of which provide the latest information for senior HR practitioners.

Below is a snapshot of this month's Legal update, to read the full artcle please click the relevant paragraph...

Employment Law Briefing:

Statutory Sick Pay form changes

A change to form SSP1, which is used by employers to inform employees that they are not entitled to statutory sick pay, and the discontinuance of form SSP1L, used when employment is terminated, has been announced by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs.
Three and a half million bullied in job

According to a YouGov poll for the TUC, published this month, which surveyed the experiences of 2,857 workers, the projections show that three and a half million people (14 per cent or one in seven of the workforce)in the UK's workforce have been bullied in their current job. 21 per cent (one in five) would confirm that bullying is an issue where they work.
DBERR consults on European works councils

The DBERR has started consultation on the European Commission's proposals to recast the EC European Works Councils Directive (No.94/45). The Government has yet to form a detailed opinion but sets out factors on which the proposal will be considered as well as questioning respondents on the current effectiveness of European Works Councils (EWCs).
UK staff work longest hours in Western Europe

Staff in the UK are still working the longest hours in Western Europe, a report has shown. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions shows that full time employees in the UK put in 41.4 hours of work per week on average: a total of 1 hour and 24 minutes more than the average for all EU countries.
Working days lost through strikes in 2007 highest for five years

The latest official UK strike figures show that more than one million working days were lost through strike action in 2007. This figure is almost 250,000 days more than in 2006, and the highest amount of working days lost due to strike activity since 2002. More than 95% of the days lost involved industrial action in the public sector. Most disputes were pay related and of short duration.
Boosting business performance through employee engagement

Business Secretary, John Hutton, has announced a review to examine new ways to boost the performance of employees and improve British business through employee engagement, to be lead by David MacLeod, a leading expert in the field.
Internal disciplinary hearings and legal representation

An employer's internal disciplinary rule which disallowed legal representation was not in breach of the principles of natural justice, the implied term of trust and confidence, or Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, despite the seriousness of the charges against the employee, according to the High Court in Kulkarni v Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Trust
Whistleblower must reasonably believe allegations are true

In Muchesa v Central & Cecil Housing Care Support Ltd the EAT rejected the claimant's whistle-blowing claim. For protection to apply, Miss Muchesa must have "reasonably believed" the information disclosed to be "substantially true". But her behaviour was inconsistent with the actions of someone who reasonably believed in the truth of the serious complaints she was making and who was motivated by a genuine desire to protect the residents

Diversity Update:

CIPD research shows benefits of diversity are not being promoted

A new CIPD sponsored book, Managing Diversity and the Business Case, shows that diversity management in the UK remains superficial at best, with the majority of employers just fulfilling their legal obligations. 60% of those surveyed rank legal pressure as the most important motivation for implementing diversity policies and practices.
Minister announces support for councils to deliver equal pay

Local Government Minister John Healey has announced action to give councils the financial flexibility they need to speed up meeting their long-term commitments to achieving equal pay for staff. The decision gave the green light to 34 councils to raise £455m to meet equal pay liabilities, either by borrowing against, or selling, assets.
EU Commissioner plans to increase maternity pay and leave

A draft amendment to the Pregnant Workers' Directive which will entitle women to receive maternity pay equivalent to their normal salary for 18 weeks and increase compulsory maternity leave to six weeks has been drawn up in readiness for consideration by EU Commissioners this month.
Microsoft adopts bonus scheme to promote diversity

Microsoft has launched an innovative initiative that uses a "pay for performance" approach to enhance diversity in the legal profession. The new Law Firm Diversity Program will pay firms a bonus if they achieve diversity targets. Microsoft has created two alternative diversity goals, and each firm can choose which goal it wishes to use.
EU improves delivery of online equality information

A new website on employment, social affairs and equal opportunities has been launched by the European Commission. The site aims to explain how European Union policies benefit citizens. It also provides more detailed and technical information on a wide variety of diversity issues for policy makers, organisations and individuals
£280,000 awarded for disability discrimination

In James v The Chief Constable of Norfolk, a tribunal awarded £280,000 to a police officer who would have completed his career in the service if reasonable adjustments had been made. It was not unreasonable for the officer to have been offered other posts rather than being retired on ill-health grounds, which occurred in order to help meet Government targets regarding "front-line" policing.
Enhanced redundancy pay scheme not justified

In Galt & Others v National Starch & Chemical Limited, a Tribunal held that the employer had failed to justify its use of enhanced redundancy payments which had been calculated on the basis of age and length of service but which did not mirror the statutory redundancy payment scheme and which did not, therefore, fall within the exemption to unlawful acts provided by Regulation 33 of Employment (Equality) Age Regulations 2006.
Unexpected emergencies do not mean sudden crises

RBS v Harrison, the EAT ruled that entitlement to ‘emergency' dependent leave under s.57A(1)(d) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 because of the unexpected disruption or termination of care arrangements for a dependent child, is not limited to last minute unavailability or emergencies.