-
widen the current
provisions relating to harassment, which require
that the harassment should be "on the grounds of
sex", rather than, as the Directive requires, be
"related to the sex of a person";
-
enable a complaint
of harassment to be made by an individual when
the conduct complained of is directed at, and
relates to the sex of, a third party;
-
clarify that
employers can be liable for harassment if they
fail to take steps to prevent harassment by
others e.g. clients/suppliers;
-
eliminate the
requirement for a comparator in cases of
discrimination on the grounds of
pregnancy/maternity leave;
-
clarify that a
woman can bring a sex discrimination claim if
deprived of non-contractual benefits, such as a
discretionary bonus, during the compulsory
maternity leave period (i.e. the two week period
immediately following the birth); and
-
ensure that the
same rights to bring a sex discrimination claim
apply during both ordinary and additional
maternity leave.
Outsourced local
government staff and pension schemes
From 1 October 2007, two
groups of local authority employees have new
rights as regards their pension arrangements. The
groups of employees are:
Both such groups now
have a statutory right to pension protection and
for that protection to be enforceable.
In this context,
"pension protection" means that a transferring
employee must be offered, as an employee of the
contractor, rights to acquire pension benefits
which are the same, "broadly comparable" or better
than those he had, or had a right to acquire, as a
local authority employee.
The test for "broad
comparability" here is that the pension benefits
are largely of the same value as those under the
Local Government Pension Scheme ("LGPS"), so that
no identifiable member of the LGPS is materially
worse off after the contract. Therefore private
sector employers are not under an obligation to
exactly replicate the benefits under the LGPS.
However, it is worth noting that private sector
employers can participate in the LGPS (which they
cannot do with the Principal Civil Service Pension
Scheme).
The law states that a
"best value authority" which enters into a
contract with another body for the provision of
services must address the question of the pension
arrangements of existing employees, and other
employment related matters, where their employer
will change as a result of the contract. Examples
of "best value authorities" are local authorities,
county passenger transport authorities and waste
disposal authorities.
Although not on a
legislative footing until now, the usual practice
of "best value authorities" was to require that
contractors offer pension protection as part of
the contractual arrangements. However, the
significance of the change is that the contract
between the "best value authority" and the private
contractor must now include a provision to the
effect that the contractor secures pension
protection for transferring employees and one to
the effect that such protection is enforceable by
those employees. Employers must therefore ensure
that they comply with the requirement of pension
protection so as to avoid the risk of employee
claims.
IBM facing first virtual
picket
IBM workers in Italy have
taken their dispute with their employer into the
virtual world of "Second Life". Alongside
real-life protest pickets outside IBM offices, a
virtual picket took place in the online community
of Second Life, with workers asking for a salary
increase, plus improvements to pension and health
rights.
Reported to be the first
ever union action in the virtual world, union
officials commented that this opens new avenues
for industrial pressure in the future and brings
greater involvement in trade union activities for
"younger, computer-savvy
members".
New ACAS guidance on
holiday pay
Following the increase in
statutory holiday entitlement on 1 October (as
outlined in our last update), ACAS
has issued a new advice leaflet on "Holidays and Holiday
Pay" to help employers understand and
apply the recent
increases.
This leaflet can be used
alongside the guidance and "Holiday Entitlement Ready
Reckoner" provided by DBERR (formerly the DTI)
on its website, which outlines the calculation
process in more detail.
National day to highlight
bullying in the workplace
7 November 2007 has been
deemed National Ban Bullying at
Work Day
by an independent charity. Bullying at work
is increasingly prevalent, with employers facing a
growing number of Tribunal claims based on
bullying and harassment. The national day has been
organised to increase awareness of the issue and
highlight the problems it can create for
employers, both in terms of reputation and
cost.
Age discrimination still
rife in the
workplace
It is now just over a year
since age discrimination became unlawful. However,
new research commissioned by The Employers Forum on
Age (EFA) has found that employers are
still not abiding by the
rules.
The EFA research reveals
that almost nine out of ten (86 per cent) people
know it is illegal to discriminate on the grounds
of age at work, compared to just 51 per cent this
time last year. However, 59 per cent of workers
claimed to have witnessed ageist behaviour in the
workplace during the last twelve months alone,
compared to 61 per cent when surveyed just before
the legislation came in.
One in three (31 per cent)
workers see people being managed differently
depending on their age - an increase from 23 per
cent last year. Over more than a quarter (27 per
cent) said that people of a similar age to the
rest of the team are recruited to ensure a good
'fit'. This has not changed in the 12 months since
the laws came into force. The EFA research also
found that there is a long way to go in ensuring
that ageism is properly understood, with less than
half (45 per cent) of those surveyed correctly
identifying that it is an issue which can affect
anyone of any age and a third (33 per cent)
believing that it only affects older
people.
Workers fail to take a
break
Almost one in four full
time British workers never take a break during
work and 7 per cent do not even take a holiday,
according to new research from Legal
& General.
At a time when there is
growing concern over British working hours and the
need to reduce workplace stress, the research
provides an overview of British workers' health
concerns. The results appear to reveal
the impact that long working hours are having on
workers' perceptions of their health:
- Over one in five, 23 per cent, full time
employees are not happy with their work-life
balance which is perhaps symptomatic of them
working too many extra hours, which was
mentioned by 20 per cent.
- 49 per cent of full time workers put lack of
exercise as their top health concern followed by
42 per cent who cite not getting enough sleep,
being overweight is third at 38 per cent and 33
per cent are stressed by their daily
routine.