Should mobile phones be banned from work meetings?! Kaajal Nathwani took part in a discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live…
The CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, is banning staff from being on mobile phones in work meetings. Can employers do this? Hear Kaajal’s thoughts from an employment law perspective.
Full discussion here: Stephen Nolan - 11/04/2025 - BBC Sounds
Kaajal Nathwani taking part in a panel discussion on BBC Radio 5 Live…
….focusing on Amazon, amongst others, and their much publicised mandate enforcing a full time return to the office from January. She discusses the legal position of such a mandate and implications of enforcing the same
Osborne & Wise Partner, Kaajal Nathwani, appearing on Tony Livesey’s BBC Radio 5 show
She discusses why fast food giant McDonald’s is in the news again regarding it’s treatment of employees. With a recent 29 dismissals but a reported 700 claims, including for sexual harassment, have they managed to meet any of the obligations included in the signed section 23 agreement with the Equality and Human Rights Commission?
Third Party Harassment
What should an employer be doing to try and prevent harassment of its employees by client, customers or other third parties?
Recent changes in the law around third party harassment mean employers need to action to prevent this.
📽️ In this video short we cover some practical examples and what preventative steps employer’s should be taking in this area.
ℹ️ For further information on how Osborne & Wise can assist your business contact us on info@osbornewise.com
Third Party Harassment - Dan’s thoughts on the changes brought in to legislation in October 2024
‘Right to switch off’
‘Right to Switch off’
This video short discusses the changes proposed by the Labour party manifesto.
The ‘right to switch off’ requires that employees do not have to work outside of core hours. We feel that it will follow other European countries who already implement a ‘voluntary code of practise’.
What businesses can do to prepare:
Review current working practices - organise work flow effectively
Have conversations with employees about what should be expected of them outside of core working hours.
Optimising technology and encouraging rest and time away from work which can lead to increased productivity in the long term.
Flexible working as a ‘genuine default’
Flexible working as a ‘genuine default’
In this video Dan reviews the Labour party’s proposal to make flexible working a ‘genuine default’ or the ‘new norm’.
But what does this mean? We feel it will mean a shift in the burden from employee to employer.
An employer who wishes to refuse a flexible working request will have to demonstrate why it can’t be granted.
How do businesses prepare?
undertake an internal review on how the requests are currently processed
review related policy documents
This is not a right to flexible working but will create a shift in employee expectations and how tribunials will review these decisions.
Making Unfair Dismissal a Day 1 Right - how can your business prepare?
Labour Reforms: Unfair dismissal, a Day 1 Right
Once brought in employers will have to follow a fair process and justify a dismissal as fair from the 1st day of employment.
Here’s what we’re saying to our clients to ensure they are prepared for these changes:
• Familiarise yourself with what a ‘fair’ process would look like
• Tighten up and improve recruitment processes
• Review probation periods & length of those periods
Latest Employment Tribunal decisions give ammunition to the already raging Working From Home Debate
How many people who work remotely from home, use their working hours to squeeze in that extra washing load, cut up the veg for dinner, or book their gardener to come round whilst they are home to supervise?
Tipping the balance
Is this a win for the employer and win for the employee? Or are profitability and activity levels suffering as a result? This has always been a hot topic. Where do we draw the line? When does doing the odd household chore cross the line and amount to a breach of trust and confidence?
Is your employer trusting you to do your job and nothing else whilst working from home? What about when you are in the office and take a tea break?
What about how you dress? Surely what they can’t see won’t hurt them…..? until they do see what they aren’t supposed to see!
The Importance of Probationary Periods Now and for the Foreseeable
Probationary periods have long been an effective tool to effectively manage employees, especially when assessing their long term suitability for post.
With the upcoming change to unfair dismissal rights, probationary periods are going to be vital in giving some flexibility in what initially appeared to be complete removal of an employers right to dismiss without process / fair reason (as long as the reason was not discriminatory) in the first two years’ of service.
Penny Morrison looks in detail at what we can expect when it comes to the all-important new probationary period.
Managing Day One Protection from Unfair Dismissal
In this article, we look at one of the major changes– the removal of the two year qualifying period for protection from unfair dismissal and its impact on the employment relationship.
Under the proposed Employment Rights Bill, employees will be protected from unfair dismissal from the very first day of employment. Although this change is not due to come into effect before autumn 2026, employers should begin preparing now for this fundamental shift.
Mental Health Awareness: The Importance of Maternal Mental Health in the Workplace
The Importance of Maternal Mental Health in the Workplace
Workplace culture and often lack of legal understanding or compliance can have a significant impact on maternal mental health.
Last week marked Mental Health Awareness Week, a week which which raises awareness and promotes recognition of unique challenges faced by women before, during, and after maternity leave.
Reflections on the EHRC Interim Guidance: What Employers Need to Know after the Supreme Court’s Ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers on the meaning of “woman”
In this article, Penny Morrison considers what employers need to know following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this month and what they should be doing to ensure legal compliance while at the same time acting with compassion and consideration for all.
The recent Supreme Court decision on the definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim guidance, marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of the UK’s approach to equality. For employers, the implications are significant and require careful attention not only to legal compliance but also to workplace culture and inclusivity.
Vento bands – a cautionary tale for judges and practitioners
Kaajal Nathwani, has written a feature article for the Solicitors Journal which assesses several recent judgments by the Employment Appeal Tribunal regarding the assessment of compensation for injury to feelings and the importance of careful analysis and supporting evidence
Changes to Neonatal Care Leave
Neonatal Leave
From 6 April 2025, the Government will introduce a new statutory right to neonatal care leave.
The purpose of this is to provide additional support for parents who need to take time off work to care for their newborn baby who requires extended hospital care. Subject to certain eligibility requirements, neonatal care leave may be paid.
Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill (‘ERB’)
Last week, over 200 pages of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill were published in response to consultation with various stakeholders.
These amendments are wide ranging and cover a number of the new protections, including changes to zero hours contracts, sick pay, trade union law and many other areas. In this article, Penny Morrison summarises and provides insight into the main changes, and sets out what businesses can do now to prepare.
Avoiding mistakes in……….. PIPs and performance dismissals
We are regularly contacted by HR managers half way through a PIP or performance dismissal process as a check in. Sometimes the process is faultless, other times there’s a need to start again because of slip ups along with the way. This can be very costly and disheartening for management. In the worst case these mistakes can lead to expensive and reputationally damaging litigation.
In this article Dan Wise offers a checklist to HR Teams and Line Managers when planning a PIP or performance dismissal process
Avoiding mistakes in……….. Interviewing and recruitment processes
All too often employers will make a decision to recruit and then rush through a process into order to fill the requirement. Line managers will often be in the unenviable position of needing to find the ‘right’ person for the job or jobs within a matter of weeks. All of a sudden good process goes out the window and mistakes are made. In this article Dan Wise offers a checklist to HR and Line Managers when planning a recruitment process
Asda’s equal pay tribunal ruling
The tribunal ruling in the long running ASDA equal pay litigation could give rise to a £1.2 billion pay out and a significant increase in these types of claims in the private sector.
Sexual harassment and the change in law in practice
Kaajal Nathwani takes a closer look at the changes taking place related to sexual harassment in the workplace and the heightened responsibilities being placed on employers to prevent and respond to sexual harassment..
Pregnancy Discrimination – Employers beware
Employers are reminded to act with caution in taking any actions in relation to employees who are protected under the Equality Act 2010 when pregnant. The recent case of Shakil -v- Samsons Ltd is a reminder that actions taken by an employer could be discriminatory and result in a substantial award being made by an Employment Tribunal in favour of an employee.
Labour’s New Deal for Working People
The New Deal is aimed at improving the lives of working people by strengthening their individual and collective labour rights. The authors examine the more radical concepts.
Labour’s promises include:
banning zero hours contracts;
removing the qualifying period for certain employment law rights;
banning ‘fire and rehire’;
introducing collectively bargained fair pay agreements;
introducing a right to switch off; and
trade union reform
Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023
The Government has recently passed the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 and it will come into force on 26 October 2024. In short, it creates a new, proactive statutory duty on all employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Any failure to do so will result in an increase of up to 25% in the amount of compensation awarded to an employee who brings a successful claim for sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010.
The zero hours contract
In the first of a series of articles exploring some of the Labour Party's new policies in the area of employment law, Daniel Wise, founder of boutique City law firm Osborne Wise looks at the proposal to 'ban zero hours contracts' and how this might work in practice.
The Future of Flexibility
Flexible working is more than a trend; it’s a fundamental shift in how we think abut work and life balance. Our colleague, Daniel Wise, recently joined Anna Whitehouse (aka Mother Pukka) on her insightful podcast to delve into this topic. The discussion is rich with practical insights and experiences that are invaluable for anyone interested in the future of work.
Avoiding Mistakes in Gross Misconduct Dismissals
Extract: An employer discovers a serious incident. Their immediate thought is: “it’s gross misconduct”. With this first impression in mind, it is tempting to rush into confirming a dismissal. But it is always sensible to press the pause button before moving forward. There are important procedural boxes to tick to avoid successful tribunal claims.
Supreme Court hands down Uber decision on worker status
Many of us followed the Uber cases through the appeal Courts as the impact of these decisions have a significant impact on hiring practices in the gig economy and more widely. Early last year, the final appeal court (the Supreme Court) handed down its judgment in Uber BV and ors V Aslam and ors, which marks a big step forward in worker rights.
Disciplinary Proceedings – increasing employee protection
It is a well-trodden path in dismissal litigation for the disciplinary process adopted by the employer to be picked apart piece by piece, with varying degrees of success by the claimant lawyer.