Health & Safety issues
Shocking photos of former England cricket captain, Freddie Flintoff, recently circulated the news, when he appeared with significant facial injuries nine months after being involved in a crash, while filming Top Gear in December 2022. It was reported this month that he has now reached a financial settlement with BBC and the figure is rumoured [...]
Hello and thank you for joining us for our monthly newsletter. As we move into the spooky month of October we have a short roundup of some news stories and how they relate to Employment in a wider context. For any of you that missed our last newsletter you can find that here. This week [...]
This month we saw Pret-a-Manger fined £800,000 after leaving a cafe worker locked in their walk-in freezer! On 29 July, a member of staff became trapped in a commercial freezer which had a running temperature of 18 degrees below zero, while only dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. After moving around trying to keep warm [...]
Highlights: Self-isolaters from Coronavirus will be eligible for sick pay. No need to be sick just self-isolating. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/287/pdfs/uksi_20200287_en.pdf?mc_cid=03442dec30&mc_eid=f0c14693a9 We await amended regulations for SSP to be reclaimable for SMEs and to be payable from day one.
Good morning and welcome to your weekly dose of case law. Unlike the flu jab, doses of case law aren’t exclusive to Autumn! Last week we looked at protected conversations and admissibility of evidence in relation to pregnancy and maternity discrimination. This week we are looking at health and safety dismissals and trade union activities. […]
Health and Safety is something all employers are familiar with. Risk assessments, HS Managers, public and employer liability. It’s an issue every business, regardless of size or industry, has faced. One of the many health and safety procedures businesses will have is having a designated first aider. The first aider is the first port of […]
Ms. Otero Ramos, the Claimant, was a breastfeeding mother who worked as a nurse in the emergency unit of the Respondent’s hospital. The Respondent had performed a risk assessment that had concluded her role was risk-free. The risk assessment did not offer any explanation or methodology for how this conclusion was reached. Her request for […]
In case you haven’t noticed it has been rather warm these last few weeks. Whilst many will be rejoicing (PJH Law staff included) at the chance for some sunshine and heat, it can leave some employers with a headache (but hopefully not sunstroke). One issue is that many offices are not designed for temperatures above […]
Ms Morgan, the Claimant, was employed by the Royal Mencap Society, the Respondent. The Claimant had suffered serious knee and back injuries outside of work. The Claimant raised several complaints regarding cramped working conditions which were aggravating her injury. The Claimant resigned after these complaints were not addressed stating she had suffered detriment as a […]
Case of the week will be slightly different this week, most of the case law we cover is either in the Employment Tribunal (ET) or Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT). However, today’s case is from the next court up in the food chain, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales (EWCA). The questions this week […]
Last month drug driving law was amended to make it easier for the police to convict drivers under the influence of both illegal and legal drugs. Previously the police had to show how a driver’s ability to drive had been adversely affected by drugs, whereas now the individual has to simply have taken drugs over […]
At PJH Law we usually only practice employment law, however, it seems yesterday we temporarily branched out into the most common kind of law, sod’s law. Just six hours after publishing our monthly newsletter about topical employment law and HR issues, Zayn Malik, a member of one of the world’s most hyper exposed celebrity products, […]
Employers are responsible for ensuring their employees know how to use their workstation and display screen equipment safely and can be fined if their employees are injured by defective equipment. Common injuries from defective workstations include RSI, back injuries from faulty or incorrectly setup chairs and desks and eye strain from flickering monitors or incorrect […]
The Display Screen Equipment Regulations have been in force over twenty years. Display screen equipment covers computers, laptops and pretty much any work device with a screen. It is good practice to train your employees in how to use display screen equipment in a safe way. There are some unsafe ways of using DSE which […]
