Merry Christmas everyone and welcome to the final newsletter of 2024! Everyone here at PJH Law hopes you’ve had a fantastic year and are looking forward to what 2025 has in store. My name is Kyle, and for those of you who don’t know me, I’m one of the solicitors here at PJH Law. I’ll be your guide through this month’s updates.

For those who missed our last case of the week, which explored a whistleblowing case, you can catch up on it here. This month’s newsletter includes some festive advice for Christmas parties, an overview of potential changes in employment rights in the new year, a cautionary look at AI and employment law, and finally, a lighter story to close out the year.

 

Christmas Parties – Some Do’s and Don’ts

For those who attended our recent seminar on Christmas party case law, you’ll already have an idea of how to approach this festive season. However, here’s a quick checklist of Do’s and Don’ts to ensure your workplace celebration is both enjoyable and incident-free:

Do’s:

  1. Communicate expectations: Remind attendees that this is still a workplace event and they are expected to uphold professional standards of behaviour.
  2. Appoint a responsible person: Have someone with the authority to discreetly address any inappropriate behaviour.
  3. Encourage inclusivity and enjoyment: Make an effort to involve everyone and focus on fostering team spirit—it’s Christmas, after all!

Don’ts:

  1. Avoid excessive alcohol: While an open bar may seem appealing, excessive drinking can lead to incidents you’d rather avoid. Monitor alcohol consumption where possible.
  2. Don’t overlook travel arrangements: Ensure attendees have a safe way to get home and that someone knows their plans. Employers can still be liable for what happens on the way home.
  3. Steer clear of “sober regrets”: Avoid making promises (e.g. promotions or pay raises) after a few drinks. Keep the event informal and focused on celebration.

Enjoy the time with colleagues—it’s well-deserved! We spend so much of our lives at work, so it’s worth making the most of opportunities to celebrate together.

 

Upcoming Changes and the Employment Rights Bill

While consultations for some of the proposed changes have now closed, several key reforms remain under discussion. These changes will aim to strengthen employee protections, streamline workplace rights, and address issues like zero-hours contracts and the “fire and rehire” practices.

For those who couldn’t attend our recent seminar, we’re expecting significant updates on:

  1. Day-One Employment Rights for sick pay and parental leave.
  2. Reforms addressing workplace flexibility and protections for gig economy workers.

If you want to stay ahead of these developments, keep an eye out for further consultations and share your thoughts when opportunities arise.

 

AI – Discrimination In, Discrimination Out

AI is often hailed as a game-changer for the workplace, promising automation, efficiency, and data-driven decision-making. However, as we’ve seen, AI is only as “neutral” as the data it’s trained on.

In one striking case, an AI model (involving Microsoft’s technology) was tasked with calculating salaries based on limited inputs. Surprisingly—or perhaps not—the model produced outputs that reflected entrenched gender pay gaps. For example, it provided an approximate salary calculation and then multiplied it by 0.9 if the individual was female!

This example serves as a stark reminder that bias in AI can reflect and reinforce real-world inequalities. Employers considering the use of AI for hiring, performance assessments, or compensation decisions must ensure proper oversight to avoid perpetuating discrimination.

 

Lighter Side of the News – Firings Will Continue Until Morale Improves

This month we saw Indian beauty services company, Yes Madam, in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The company asked staff to complete a workplace stress survey—only to later announce that anyone reporting high stress would be dismissed immediately. Naturally, the announcement sparked outrage, ridicule, and viral infamy on LinkedIn, with users sarcastically asking how many employees had been fired.

Days later, the company backtracked, claiming the announcement was a stunt to “highlight workplace stress.” However, the damage was done, and the company learned the hard way that public firings are not the cure for stress.

While some argue that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” I imagine Yes Madam’s HR team won’t be pulling a similar stunt anytime soon.

From all of us at PJH Law, thank you for your continued support throughout 2024. We’re closing from 20 December until 2 January, so we’ll be back with more updates in the new year. Until then, have a fantastic festive season and a well-deserved break!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This month we saw Indian beauty services company, Yes Madam, in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The company asked staff to complete a workplace stress survey—only to later announce that anyone reporting high stress would be dismissed immediately. Naturally, the announcement sparked outrage, ridicule, and viral infamy on LinkedIn, with users sarcastically asking how many employees had been fired.

Days later, the company backtracked, claiming the announcement was a stunt to “highlight workplace stress.” However, the damage was done, and the company learned the hard way that public firings are not the cure for stress.

While some argue that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” I imagine Yes Madam’s HR team won’t be pulling a similar stunt anytime soon.

From all of us at PJH Law, thank you for your continued support throughout 2024. We’re closing from 20 December until 2 January, so we’ll be back with more updates in the new year. Until then, have a fantastic festive season and a well-deserved break!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!