Under the current sexual orientation regulations, religious organisations can restrict employment “for the purposes of an organised religion” to those of a particular sexuality (usually heterosexual) to comply with religious doctrine or to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious... read more

This week (1st to 5th February 2010) is National Apprenticeship Week.The week, which is organised by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), aims to celebrate the talents and skills of apprentices and recognise their employers. The Government aims to increase the number of apprenticeships... read more

Today’s news that a mental health charity has been fined £30,000, plus £20,000 costs, for failing to protect the health and safety of their employee serves as a timely reminder of the importance of conducting regular robust risk assessments. Ashleigh Ewing, 22, was stabbed to death by a... read more

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has clarified its proposals to give Employment Tribunals the power to pass on whistleblowing (Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998) allegations arising during claims to a prescribed regulator. According to the proposals the tribunal claim form... read more

Plans to change paternity leave entitlement were unveiled by Gordan Brown last year and this week the government has announced proposals to increase paternity leave from two weeks to six months. The plans could come into force from April next year and will allow mothers to transfer... read more

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that professionals in the public (and possibly the private) sector are entitled to legal representation at disciplinary and appeal hearings if the hearing might impact upon their right to practise their profession in the future (G v X School).  G was a... read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has confirmed that workers must comply with their employer’s rules for taking annual leave (or, in an absence of such rules, the notice provisions of the Working Time Regulations).  This is the case even if the worker stands to lose any unused holiday... read more

New research from Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Dundee has suggested that, due to a decline in jobs in traditionally male roles in industrial areas, there has been an increase in men applying for roles that have previously been considered to entail ‘womens’ work’ . The... read more

Official figures by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have revealed that as employers reduced hours to protect jobs, 5.07 million people regularly worked unpaid overtime in 2009, a decline of 168,000 on the previous year. Staff undertaking the overtime worked on average seven hours and 12... read more

Surveys published recently suggest that workplace bullying has increased. Across different jurisdictions, stress and depression contributes to 13.7m working days lost. A large proportion of these symptoms are due to bullying. One workplace bullying charity (the Adrea Adams Trust) defines the... read more