It has been reported that draft legislation has been passed by a committee of the European Parliament, which extends maternity leave across Europe from 14 weeks to 20 weeks on full pay. In the UK women get 52 weeks statutory maternity leave (26 weeks Ordinary Maternity Leave and 26 Additional... read more

The recent media controversy about Gordon Brown’s alleged bullying of staff at Number 10 Downing Street has thrown the spotlight on an important issue for every employer: how to deal with bullying in the workplace? The two main forms of workplace abuse are harassment and bullying. Generally... read more

John Terry’s alleged affair with the girlfriend of his England team mate, Wayne Bridge, has dominated media reports in recent weeks and has resulted in him being stripped of his role as Captain of the England Squad. There have been opposing opinions on the action taken by the England Manager... read more

The UK Pensions Regulator itself seems to think not and with good reason. It has been reported today that it is claiming up to £2.1 billion from Nortel Networks Limited, the Canadian communications company which has a UK subsidiary - Nortel Networks UK Limited - with a final salary occupational... read more

An employment tribunal has held that employees should be allowed to carry over annual leave entitlement to the next year when they have been too ill to take it. This is the first employment tribunal to look at paid holiday and sick leave since two major decisions from the European Court of... read more

It has recently been revealed that a serial litigant is believed to have earned thousand of pounds by submitting age discrimination claims against companies who placed advertisements using the words ‘school leaver’ or ‘recent graduate’. The serial litigant did not apply for the jobs he simply... read more

I was interested to read recently that the Business Software Alliance (BSA) offers rewards of up to £10,000 to whistleblowers who report their employer’s use of illegally copied or under-licensed IT software.   Last year the BSA received 420 reports from whistleblowers. ... 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

Plans to change paternity leave entitlement were unveiled by Gordon 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