An employment tribunal is currently hearing a claim for £40m brought by a lady named Mihaela Popa against PriceWaterhouseCooper. Mihaela Popa, who worked as a forensic accountant in the London office of PriceWaterhouseCooper, alleges that colleagues told her “Eastern Europeans are whores” and asked when she was returning to Romania. Some of her workmates apparently even believed she was a Communist spy for the Romanian secret police. Miss Popa joined PwC’s London office in September 2004, having spent [...]

Guardian – 14/09/2009 The Guardian’s annual survey of boardroom pay has revealed a 10% rise in executive salaries. Full- and part-time directors of the FTSE 100 shared between them more than £1bn. Although bonus payouts were down, basic salary hikes were more than three times the 3.1% average pay rise for ordinary workers in the private sector. Commenting, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said “The Guardian’s analysis shows the breathtaking cynicism involved in a [...]

The government is proposing to change the law so that employed mothers will be able to transfer all or part of the last 26 weeks of their maternity leave to the father.  To the extent that this “additional paternity leave” is taken during the mother’s 39 week maternity pay period, it would be paid at the same rate as Statutory Maternity Pay (currently £123.06). Existing rights will not be affected (employed fathers are currently entitled to two [...]

EHRC – 07/09/2009 The Equality and Human Rights Commission has now completed its inquiry into sex discrimination in the financial services sector in Great Britain. The main terms of reference were: To inquire into the gender pay gap and pay trends across the financial services sector To inquire into the extent and nature of sex discrimination in relation to recruitment, terms and conditions, promotion, career paths, retention and workplace culture across the financial services sector To [...]

A reminder that the National Minimum Wage (NMW) increases next month. With effect from 1 October 2009 the rates are as follows: adult rate (for those aged 22 and over): increases to £5.80 per hour youth rate (18-21): increases to £4.83 per hour rate for those aged 16 and 17 years: increases to £3.57 per hour. In addition, as from this date, all tips, service charges, gratuities and cover charges, whether discretionary or mandatory, will [...]

DWP – 24/08/2009 The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the extension of a scheme to help people with fluctuating mental health problems keep their jobs. Pilots of the scheme which is run in conjunction with mental health charity Mind have already shown a 90% success rate in helping sufferers to stay in work. The DWP also plans to publish a National Strategy for Mental Health and Employment, which will include expectations of employers, [...]

BBC – 13/08/2009 A woman who was made to work in a shop’s stockroom because her prosthetic arm did not fit with the company’s image, has won her claim for harassment. Riam Dean told the Central London employment tribunal that a manager at the Abercrombie and Fitch store in London’s Saville Row had originally given permission to wear a cardigan to cover her false arm. However, she was later told this did not fit with [...]

Here comes the sun – employers get ready for an inundation of holiday request forms from your employees, as staff begins to prepare for their holidays. Although a lot of businesses have a workforce structure that enables adequate cover during holiday season, there are some that struggle due to the lack of staff and or financial resources to provide cover, during the holidays. It is therefore important that employers know their rights and authorise holidays [...]

Maternity pay proposals – a mixed response? Proposals made recently by the Equality and Human Rights Commission concerning parental leave have received a mixed response, says Sue Evans, a partner at Lester Aldridge. Under the terms of the proposals, which are set out in a Working Better report, women would be entitled to the first 26 weeks of maternity leave on 90 per cent of their salary. Beyond that, leave can be taken in three [...]

Your “Terms and Conditions” document is the contract between you and your customer for your supply of goods or services. The same document may also be called “Terms”, “Terms of sale”, “Sale Contract”, “Business Terms” and many other variations. Where it is referred to in these terms it is generally offered to clients or customer on a “take-it-or-leave-it” basis. Related resources: business terms and conditions | employment Agency terms and conditions | terms and condition [...]