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Age Discrimination: Common pitfalls to avoid

Kimberley Whalen-Blake
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Age is one of the nine protected characteristics defined in the Equality Act 2010 (the linchpin piece of legislation in England and Wales that deals with discrimination). Surprisingly age discrimination has only been illegal in the UK since 2006 – far...

Workplace Banter - Joke or Harassment?

Kimberley Whalen-Blake
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Another week and another claim across my desk where a no malice intended ‘joke’ has resulted in a Tribunal claim being made against my employer client for harassment. The trend in these types of cases is increasing year-on-year. Employment tribunal claims relating to workplace ‘banter’ rose by 44% in 2020 and 2021. Whether this increase be a result of harassment being more highly publicised since the #metoo movement and employees feeling more empowered to raise these issues or because they are now less tolerant of the behaviour, the statistics show that unless businesses start addressing workplace banter, they are rolling the dice with an employment tribunal claim. The defence of it was just ‘banter’, harmless, jovial, workplace fun, is proving to be less and less strong at resisting these claims.

All things Furlough: What your Business Needs to Know!

Kimberley Whalen-Blake
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A few weeks ago, the Coronavirus was barely on people’s radars and the term “furloughing” unheard of. Every day we are faced with developments that are significantly impacting our businesses. The government have announced some support...

From Furloughing to Redundancy to Home Working to Sick Pay

Kimberley Whalen-Blake
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A few weeks ago, the Coronavirus was barely on people’s radars and it seemed a world away from the state of play today. Every day we are faced with developments that are significantly impacting our day to day lives, and our businesses. This article is...