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What’s happening now in the world of work this summer 2022?

There are key learning points from recent tribunal decisions arising during the COVID lockdown as well as some pointers for the new “normal” as people go back to work. Some things have not changed especially with data protection cases and social media infringements.

 

QED Training has been busy delivering courses online throughout the year with a steady return to the training room. We are now well equipped to do both. And we can even provide “oven ready” video recordings on any topic. A new advocacy service is also available. We have profiled our courses and services at the end of this bulletin.

We have also been out and about meeting new colleagues who provide different but very important complimentary services. In this edition we bring news about Toms Maris Martinsons of GB Transformations. He offers personal training and coaching services. You will find his full details later in these pages.

So, in this edition we look at: -

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  • Why Mrs Thompson received £185,000 because the employer did not consider her alternative ideas for flexible working on return from maternity leave

  • How a text message giving Mr Gibson the sack resulted in a pay out of £26,325

  • Mr Lynch who got the sack because of a social media rant against a colleague with a threat of physical violence

  • Nearly £500,000 paid out by firms because of privacy breaches with marketing calls by phone

  • Dates for your diary from April onwards – make sure you comply and/or your staff are aware of these

  • Toms Maris Martinsons

  • QED training courses and other services

  • Mrs Thompson received £185,000 because the employer did not consider her alternative ideas for flexible working on return from maternity leave

 

This case like so many of its ilk points to the importance of objectively considering requests for changes to a work pattern especially when there is plenty of notice and adopting a proportionate approach. It is also worthy of note that the compensation awarded reflected the difficulties the claimant would have in getting a new job in a changing job market caused by COVID 19.

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Mrs Thompson was a sales manager at an independent London estate agent. She made a flexible working request in advance of her return from maternity leave. Mrs Thompson proposed that she return to work on a four-day working week and change her hours to end her day at 5pm rather than 6pm to collect her child from nursery. Despite making suggestions as to how the arrangement could be made to work in practice, Mrs Thompson’s flexible working request was turned down Mrs Thompson resigned and brought an employment tribunal case, which included a claim for indirect sex discrimination. The employment tribunal upheld Mrs Thompson’s claim. The tribunal accepted that the employer’s refusal to allow Mrs Thompson to move to a four-day working week and the requirement to work until 6pm each day placed her at a substantial disadvantage.

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According to the tribunal, the refusal of the flexible working request was not a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of maintaining successful relations with customers.

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The employment tribunal awarded nearly £185,000 to Mrs Thompson. The majority of the award was for loss of earnings, as the tribunal acknowledged the difficulty that she had in obtaining work at a comparable salary, given the impact of the pandemic on the job market in her sector and the London housing market.

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  • Text message giving Mr Gibson the sack resulted in a pay out of £26,325

 

This case reminds us that staff can voice genuine safe working concerns and that the work record of an employee will be considered.

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Mr Gibson, a chef, was put on furlough when the restaurant in which he worked had to close during the first lockdown. In the run-up to the end of that lockdown, the boss asked him to do some work to help with reopening.

Mr Gibson raised his concerns about the lack of safe working measures, in particular the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). He was worried that his father, who was shielding, might catch coronavirus from him.

The restaurant subsequently sent a text to Mr Gibson in which it dismissed him with immediate effect. Mr Gibson brought a claim that his dismissal was unfair for taking steps to protect himself and his father.

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The tribunal was satisfied that Mr Gibson was unfairly dismissed. According to the tribunal, Mr Gibson had been a “successful and valued member of staff” before raising his concerns and he was dismissed because, in circumstances of danger that he reasonably believed to be serious and imminent, he took steps to protect himself and his father.

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In upholding Mr Gibson’s claim for unfair dismissal, the employment tribunal ordered his employer to pay him £23,625.

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We have a portfolio of other COVID 19 related cases that can be sent to you on request.

They include

  • Refusal to have a vaccine

  • Rights of employees in taking holidays to countries with high COVID levels

  • Long Covid as a Disability under the Equality Act 2010

  • Mr Lynch got the sack because of a social media rant against a colleague with threat of physical violence!

 

This case shows the value of having an up-to-date social media policy and making sure staff are fully aware of their rights and responsibilities under it.

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It also brings into sharp focus the ultimate sanction available to an employer, i.e., summary dismissal.

Mr Lynch, a pizza delivery driver, was concerned for his safety at the start of the pandemic. He emailed HR and said that he would not be coming to work until it was safe to do so. He took up the option of unpaid self-isolation.

However, he subsequently posted a message on Facebook that individuals who continued to work for Domino’s Pizza during lockdown were “a disgrace” He also got into an online spat with a fellow employee, whom he threatened with physical violence.

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Despite a later apology, Mr Lynch was sacked for making the threats, which were a breach of the employer’s social media policy.  He claimed unfair dismissal on the basis that he was sacked for having made a protected disclosures under whistle blowing rights. The tribunal dismissed his claim and concluded that his actions amounted to gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal.

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They went on to say that, even if his complaints could be regarded as protected disclosures, there was no indication that he was dismissed because of them. The court ruled that the main reason for Mr Lynch’s dismissal was that he had made a serious threat against a colleague, in breach of the employer’s social media policy.

We have a suite of free policy templates and briefing sheets covering: -

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  • Social Media

  • Case Studies such as Preece v Wetherspoons

  • Tweets – Malicious and Offensive

  • Cyber Security Do’s and Don’ts

  • Protocols for online meetings

  • Nearly £500,000 paid out because of privacy breaches with marketing calls by phone

 

These four cases remind us that the phrase “Data Protection” (DP) covers privacy rules under the UK DP Act written against the backcloth of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Fines and penalties vary in scope. PECR have lower fines but paradoxically there are more of them! And three of these cases contain reminders that it is against the law to make marketing calls to phone numbers that have been registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)for more than 28 days, unless the recipient has notified the company that they do not object to receiving such calls.

Here is the latest PECR news.

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has imposed the following fines.

  • £200,000 on Home Sense Ltd of Lampeter, Wales   for making more than half a million unsolicited marketing calls. Specifically, they made 675,478 nuisance calls between June 2020 and March 2021, offering insulation services to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service (TPS). And following more than 60 complaints from the public, the ICO’s investigation found that the company identified itself with different trading names when calling customers, including ‘Cosy Loft’, ‘Warmer Homes’ and ‘Comfier Homes’. This is also illegal.

  • £2,000 on the Energy Suite for making over 1,000 unsolicited direct marketing calls to subscribers who were registered with the TPS and who had not notified Energy Suite that they were willing to receive such calls, and to three complaints being made as a result.

  • £75,000 on Northern Gas & Power made direct marketing calls to subscribers who were registered with the TPS and who had not provided valid consent.

  • £140,000 on the EB Associates Group Limited for instigating over 107,000 illegal cold calls to people about pensions. The Government banned the practice of making pension cold calls in 2019, to try and stop people being scammed out of their life savings. As well as a financial penalty, the ICO has ordered EB Associates to stop making further illegal calls about pensions or face court action.

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Personal Fitness!


QED Training Services have been looking around for an expert in this field who we can recommend to you. We are delighted to introduce Toms Martinsons of GB Transformations. He offers Holistic Online coaching services. He is a man who went from underweight to overweight and then from overweight to muscular. He understands first-hand how it feels to be a complete beginner who is intimidated and lost in the gym or to be an overweight person trying to lose weight.

We asked him about his services. He told us: -

“My passion and mission” is to help educate, coach, and support busy people to regain their ideal body shape and energy after hitting a plateau or going a long period without exercising and eating good so that they can feel more confident, energised, and live a healthier quality of life for the long run.”

Toms uses what he calls a “holistic coaching approach” that incorporates knowledge from different fields such as: -

  • Nutrition Science

  • Exercising and Biomechanics

  • Lifestyle and Habit Coaching

  • Psychology and Personal Development

 

Toms Maris Martinsons

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Joined up thinking that helps people get back into shape with a personal custom-made action plan!

Over three hundred people have been helped by Toms in the last seven years. And as we return to more “normal” times after COVID you might want to get a better work-life balance after months of isolation, exhaustion, and lack of exercise. Toms can help you get back your energy and control.

You can contact him at:

 

Or visit his website. It is packed with real case studies and useful fitness information all under the banner of:

Educate – Support – Empower

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ABOUT QED TRAINING, CONSULTANCY AND ADVOCACY SERVICES

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QED provide online and training room-based courses on all the topics listed under and indeed which help to address issues illustrated in our breaking news about cases and expected changes in employment laws later this year.

Policy development work across the whole spectrum of our course portfolio is also available with supporting audits and after care.

Jeeva Manivannan in India is developing QED across the country, and we have already assisted a number of students coming from there to the UK. Jeeva’s QED contact details in India are included in our details at the end of this newsletter.

Last month as 2022 got underway, QED set up a Specialist Advocacy Unit dedicated to those who need help with claims and/or appeals about: -

  • Discrimination

  • Employment Issues

  • Harassment and Bullying

  • Health and Social Care

  • Personal Injury at Work

  • Small Claims

  • Student Issues

  • Subject Access Requests under GDPR

  • Trading Standards -Customer Services

  • Welfare Benefit Appeals

Get in touch if you need any of our training, consultancy, or advocacy services

ALL COURSES CAN BE DELIVERED ONLINE OR IN A TRAINING ROOM

New Topics include: -

Domestic Abuse Act

Online Safety Bill

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Our established courses on specialist legal topics include: -

  • Bribery Act

  • Care Act

  • Charities Act and Corporate Governance

  • Employment Law

  • Equality Act

  • Data Protection & General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

  • Defensible Documentation

  • Disclosure Barring Service -DBS

  • Mental Health Acts

  • Modern Slavery Act

  • Privacy and Electronic Regulations

  • Prevent Duty-Counter Terrorism Laws

  • Safeguarding

  • Social Media and Employment Law

  • UK Citizenship and Brexit

  • Volunteers and the Law

  • Welfare Benefits - Universal Credit -and Social Security/Immigration Laws

 

Specialist personal development courses include: -

  • Advocacy

  • Communication Skills

  • Cultural Awareness

  • Customer Care

  • Facilitation Skills

  • Influencing Skills

  • Job Search Skills

  • Mentoring

  • Modern Employee representative

  • Organising Events

  • Peer Support Groups

  • Public Speaking and Presentations

  • Time Management

  • Train the Trainer!

 

After Care


All courses are prefaced with agreed ground rules and suitable handouts with supporting manuals where appropriate. Extracts from a client’s own policies and procedures on a given subject are threaded into a course as well as the key organisational messages we are asked to impart.  A 12 month after care service is built into all fees when the client can appoint a designated colleague to liaise with our trainer on any further issues for clarification from the course or advice about a given issue.

Contact details: -

 

P.S. – Our other free booklets include: -

  • Six ways to deal with difficult people.

  • CV Toolkit with over 300 typical job interview questions classified under 12 headings.

  • 116 ideas for Time Management

 
 
 

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