Insights
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?
Menopause in the workplace roundtable
A virtual roundtable discussing the legal, practical and cultural impact of menopause at work. Featuring key speakers:
Kaajal Nathwani – Partner, Osborne & Wise – Employment Lawyer
Lisa Seagroatt – Founder, HR Fit for Purpose – Health and Wellbeing specialist
Pat Duckworth – Women’s Health Strategist
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
‘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’
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.
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
Introduction One of the key take aways from Keir Starmer’s conference speech was the promise to ‘ban zero hours contracts’. This appears in the Labour Party’s green paper as one of a range of measures entitled A New Deal for working people. It is of course a popular policy with voters since the concept of a zero hours contract has become […]
Unpacking the complexities and opportunities of flexible working 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 […]
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. There […]
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 […]
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. This job was arguably made easier following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Burn v Alder Hay, in which the court opened up the possibility […]
The delicate balancing act involved in managing staff members who hold and express strong views in the gender identity debate was considered in the recent case of Forstater v CGD Europe. F worked at CGD as a sustainable development expert. She claimed that her relationship with CGDE came to an end because she expressed ‘gender-critical’ opinions. […]
It is a common temptation for many employers going through a difficult grievance or disciplinary process where the employee appears to be doing everything they possibly can to make things as difficult as possible, to throw in the towel before the process is completed and move to dismissal. Your employment lawyer’s advice to ‘leave no […]