As it’s December Clarkslegal employment associate, Deborah Scales, injects some rhyming couplets into her seasonal related employment advice.
In the first week of Christmas the management board sent to me
More updated guidance from HMRC.
HMRC has confirmed that the usual £150 per head tax exemption on the costs of an annual event to which all employees are invited will apply to Christmas parties which are being held virtually this year.
Planning the office party usually makes me feel quite glum
Memories of Dave cavorting on the dance floor
A spring of holly up his …
Now HMRC have dispelled my sense of doom,
This year we can hold the party virtually, by zoom.
It’s a shame in many ways but what could possibly go wrong?
As long as the top half’s decent
They can sit there in a thong.
In the second week of Xmas the management board sent to me
A sexual harassment claim under Section 26 (1) (b)
It’s actually S26(2)of the Equality Act 2010 but that didn’t rhyme. Remember that sexual harassment at work doesn’t have to involve physical touching. A lewd one-off comment or shared photograph can amount to sexual harassment making virtual parties no less risky to employers than real ones.
They may even pose a greater risk if the employee feels under less scrutiny at home, a stash of alcohol by their side. Just like real parties, employers will remain vicariously liable for discriminatory conduct that takes place during a work-related virtual party – unless they have a statutory defence. And, if colleagues decide to carry on partying themselves after the formal work party closes, even that might be considered by a tribunal to be “within the course of employment”. So employers, take care and make sure all staff have been given a copy of your anti- harassment policy.
In the third week of Christmas the management board sent to me
That pay gap report on women and obesity.
This is the alarming report published by the Institute for Employment Studies that revealed that women living with obesity face a 13% wage barrier compared with their slimmer female peers. Negative stereotyping at the recruitment and selection stage were identified as key factors. Time to put some unconscious bias training in place?
So now what I am supposed to do?
Add a weight column to the gender pay gap review?
And, besides, why must we be judged by the size of our thighs?
It’s lock down, I’m stressed, let me scoff those mince pies.
There’s been lots written about the risks of remote working to physical and mental health. The Economist recently reported that around the world people are working longer hours than they did before the pandemic. It seems the daily commute has been replaced with more emails and video meetings with most of the extra toil being done in the evenings. My own firm, Clarkslegal, has come up with a great idea to help keep us physically and mentally healthy. We are doing a virtual charity hike across Europe and we email in how many miles we’ve walked, run or cycled each day. It’s the impetus we need to get away from our desks and out into the daylight and fresh air.
In the fourth week of Christmas the management board sent to me,
A thank you, which meant the world to me.
If you’d like further advice on any of these topics contact us.