HR Articles

Next week is Mental Health Awareness week (14 – 20 May 2018) so what better time to reflect on the last 12 months which have seen much positive activity in the field of supporting mental health in the workplace. October 2017 saw two comprehensive publications issued: the ACAS guidance “Promoting positive mental health in the workplace” and the Stevenson / Farmer review of mental health and employers, “Thriving at work”.

It is not protests in the streets and the overturning of our Government by violence we fear, at least not yet anyway. However, there is a quiet and transformational revolution going on that will deeply affect just about everyone over time.

The employees in Abrahall v Nottingham City Council received incremental annual pay rises until March 2011, when the council imposed a two-year pay freeze. The council said that the only alternative was additional redundancies.

The Court of Appeal (CA) has held in the recent case of Gomes v Higher Level Care that a worker cannot claim compensation for injury to feelings under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) if they have been prevented from taking rest breaks.

Working time is defined as any time during which a worker is:

We reported on Matthew Taylor’s review of modern working practices last year. The Government has now published its full response to that report and has launched four consultations into the following areas:

A worker has the right not to be subjected to a detriment for refusing to comply with a requirement that breaches the Working Time Regulations 1998.

The last 12 months have seen a monumental cultural change, particularly for women. With the #MeToo movement, people are able to call out sexual abuse and harassment in ways that wouldn’t previously have been possible.

Under the Working Time Regulations a worker is entitled to a 20 minute rest break if they work over six hours.

Basic criminal records checks provide details of an individuals’ convictions and conditional cautions considered to be “unspent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.