11 June 2007

NEWS

UK Workers at Ease with Whistleblowing

According to a survey carried out by Ernst & Young, 86 per cent of UK employees would feel comfortable blowing the whistle at work if they suspected fraud or other wrongdoing.  Read more

Mental Ill Health is Second Largest Cause of Time Lost Due to Sickness Absence

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Active Health Partners (AHP) has revealed that mental ill health is one of the largest causes of time lost to sickness absence in British workplaces, second only to sickness absence caused by musculoskeletal conditions.  Read more

Drive to "Train British Workers for British Jobs"

The future Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has put an emphasis on "Britishness" and promised to train thousands of unemployed British workers for jobs currently being filled by migrants from countries such as Poland and Romania.  Read more

British Workers are the Worst Email Gossips in the World

According to research by Queen's University, Belfast, workers in Britain are the worst office gossipers in the world and cannot resist forwarding emails that could contain confidential information or computer viruses.  Read more

Result of Legal Challenge to Mandatory Retirement Age not Expected for 18 Months

A European Court of Justice decision on Heyday's legal challenge to the mandatory retirement age is not expected for at least 18 months.  Read more

Employers to use National Smoking Ban to Ban Workers' Cigarette Breaks

A survey by information provider Consult GEE has revealed that 36 per cent of employers plan to ban smoking breaks when the national smoking ban comes into force in England on 1 July 2007.  Read more

New Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum to Protect the Vulnerable in the Workforce

The Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, has outlined plans for a new Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum to protect vulnerable workers in British workplaces.  Read more

LEGISLATION

There is no new legislation to report this week.

CASES

Employer not Obliged to Pay Compensation to Employee who Breached Warranty

The High Court has held that an employer did not have to pay compensation under a compromise agreement where the employee was in breach of a warranty contained within the agreement.  Read more

NEXT HR NETWORK EVENT

Our next HR Network Event will be our Workshop on Employment Status: Know your Workforce.  A full list of HR Network workshops and seminars is available here.

FEEDBACK

Please let us know what topics are of interest to you by emailing HRnetwork@pinsentmasons.com. This will help us to shape future editions of this Briefing and HR Network events.

NEWS

UK Workers at Ease with Whistleblowing

According to a survey carried out by Ernst & Young, 86 per cent of UK employees would feel comfortable blowing the whistle at work if they suspected fraud or other wrongdoing.

The willingness of UK workers to whistle blow is in contrast to their European counterparts who were only half as likely to expose wrongdoings for fear of reprisals.  John Smart, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services Partner at Ernst & Young, said that this can be explained by the culture that exists in the UK workplace.  He said the UK workplace has "a strong reporting culture, based on anonymous route to inform wrongdoing.  This is supported by law such as the 1998 Public Interest Disclosure Act, which forbids employers from sacking whistleblowers who act in good faith."

In the UK, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1988 protects all workers from detrimental treatment as a result of disclosing wrongdoing on the part of their employer, with unlimited compensation if they suffer detriment for their disclosure.  Such wrongdoings include criminal offences, breaches of legal obligations, miscarriages of justice, endangering health and safety or the environment, and attempts to cover up these activities.

The legality of anonymous whistleblowing hotlines in the UK also makes it easier for workers to expose cases of fraud, bribery or corruption with the reassurance that their identity is not being disclosed. 

Mr Smart offered advice to companies who were considering expanding their workplace in to mainland Europe.  He said: "If a UK company is considering establishing a presence elsewhere in Europe, it should not automatically expect employees to behave in the same way as those at home.  The Board needs to consider first the means by which it could fast-track an appropriate and culturally acceptable reporting culture into the new territory."  (Workplace Law, 4 June 2007)  Back

Mental Ill Health is Second Largest Cause of Time Lost Due to Sickness Absence

A new report from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Active Health Partners (AHP) has revealed that mental ill health is one of the largest causes of time lost to sickness absence in British workplaces, second only to sickness absence caused by musculoskeletal conditions. 

The report, "New directions in managing employee absence", is based on an analysis of the absence records of 30,000 employees working across 40 different organisations. 

The analysis of the absence records revealed:

• each mental health related sickness absence lasted, on average, 21 days;
• each sickness absence due to depression lasted, on average, 30 days;
• each sickness absence resulting from stress lasted, on average, 21 days; and
• each sickness absence caused by anxiety lasted, on average, 21 days.

The CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, Ben Willmott, said: "This research shows how important it is for managers and HR practitioners to be aware of the signs of mental ill health so that they can take action early and provide support before the individual's condition deteriorates to the point they go off on long-term sick leave."

Mr Willmott believes that the Government and GPs also have a role to play in managing workers' mental ill health and argues that the Government should invest in the development and extension of services such as NHS Plus and Workplace Health Connect and offer tax incentives for employers who offer occupational health services.  In addition, he said that GPs need to work more closely with employers to identify opportunities for phased return-to-work for individuals with mental health problems into less demanding or reduced hours' roles as part of their rehabilitation. 

The report also identified the impact of other factors, such as a worker's age, gender and occupation, in identifying how long a person with a particular mental ill health condition might be absent from work.  It revealed that of those employees absent due to mental ill health:

• private sector employees were absent for an average of 20 days compared to an average of 24 days in the public sector;
• men were absent on average 20 days compared to 22 days for women; and
• those aged 25 were absent an average of 17 days, those aged between 25 and 54 were absent on average 21 days, rising to an on average absence of 36 days for those aged between 55 and 65.

Ingolv Urnes, Chief Executive Officer of AHP, believes these statistics will help employers to manage absence as they help identify whether an employee is taking more or less time off than might normally be expected for someone with a particular condition. He said: "Accurate sickness absence data will leave employers better equipped to tackle issues, such as mental health, and enable managers to intervene in a reasonable and timely way so that sickness absence can be managed effectively and individuals can be supported in their rehabilitation and return-to-work.  This will help improve productivity, reduce costs and litigation risks."  (CIPD Press Release, 4 June 2007)  Back

Drive to "Train British Workers for British Jobs"

The future Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has put an emphasis on "Britishness" and promised to train thousands of unemployed British workers for jobs currently being filled by migrants from countries such as Poland and Romania. 

As he prepares to succeed Tony Blair as Prime Minister on 27 June, Gordon Brown told the GMB union: "It is time to train British Workers for the British jobs that will be available over the coming few years and to make sure that people who are inactive and unemployed are able to get the new jobs on offer in our country."

Officials from Mr Brown's office said that Employment Partnerships were being established by the Government with businesses in the retail, hotels, hospitality and security sectors, as well as the Olympic Delivery Authority.  These Partnerships will provide support for up to 200,000 unemployed individuals as they try to find work.  (Telegraph, 6 June 2007)  Back

British Workers are the Worst Email Gossips in the World

According to research by Queen's University, Belfast, workers in Britain are the worst office gossipers in the world and cannot resist forwarding emails that could contain confidential information or computer viruses.

The research, "Dr Whitty's Trust and Risk in the Workplace Study" examined the computer use of workers in Britain, Holland, the United States, Australia and Singapore.  It revealed that 40 per cent of British workers gossip by email compared to the international average of 34 per cent.

A spokesman for SurfControl, the internet protection company which produced the report in conjunction with the University, said: "Circulating office gossip by email is very dangerous because within a couple of clicks that message could be with thousands of people."

The findings of the research also indicated that 25 per cent of employees readily download music files on their work computers, and a worrying 7 per cent of workers download pornography on their work computer.  (Telegraph, 6 June 2007)  Back

Result of Legal Challenge to Mandatory Retirement Age not Expected for 18 Months

A European Court of Justice decision on Heyday's legal challenge to the mandatory retirement age is not expected for at least 18 months. 

Ongoing legal arguments have resulted in an expected date for the decision moving back towards 2009 according to Personnel Today.   The parties have not yet agreed the list of questions to be referred to the ECJ. (Personnel Today, 5 June 2007)  Back

Employers to use National Smoking Ban to Ban Workers' Cigarette Breaks

A survey by information provider Consult GEE has revealed that 36 per cent of employers plan to ban smoking breaks when the national smoking ban comes into force in England on 1 July 2007.

According to the survey of 257 companies, 70 per cent of employers also planned to prohibit staff from smoking at the entrance to their premises, which may make workers reluctant to take smoking breaks if they have to walk further to a permitted smoking area.

The results of the survey also revealed:

• 76 per cent of employers plan to fine or take other disciplinary measures against workers who ignore the smoking ban;
• 84 per cent of employers did not think the maximum fine of £2,500 or the threat of criminal charges for not complying with the ban was too strict; and
• 47 per cent of employers have already arranged for outside smoking facilities for the use by their staff.

(Personnel Today, 7 June 2007)

To view our Update on the Smoking Ban click here.   Back

New Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum to Protect the Vulnerable in the Workforce

The Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, has outlined plans for a new Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum to protect vulnerable workers in British workplaces.

The Forum will be chaired by the Employment Relations Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, and will bring together experts from unions, business, enforcement and advice bodies.  It will:

• consider evidence about the problems faced by vulnerable workers, including migrant workers, to establish the nature and extent of abuse of workplace rights and legislation;
• consider whether these workplace abuses can be tackled effectively through existing enforcement and support mechanisms or whether improvements to existing mechanism, or new approaches, are needed; and
• identify options for improving the effectiveness of the enforcement regime, and raising overall levels of compliance in ways which do not increase burdens for good employers. 

Mr Darling said: "All workers deserve decent minimum standards – a minimum wage, the right to paid holidays or the right to work in a safe environment.  We need to protect vulnerable workers.  I want to make sure that if abuses occur they are dealt with as soon as possible.  By bringing together employers and unions we can identify how to strengthen enforcement."

Two pilot projects, in Birmingham and London, were also announced by the Trade and Industry Secretary.  Led by the TUC and Marketing Birmingham the projects will run for two years and will aim to identify ways that vulnerable workers and their employers can better understand their rights and access the help, advice and information available.  (DTI Press Release, 1 June 2007)  Back

CASES

Employer not Obliged to Pay Compensation to Employee who Breached Warranty

The High Court has held that an employer did not have to pay compensation under a compromise agreement where the employee was in breach of a warranty contained within the agreement.

Mr Collidge, the claimant, was a founder, director and employee of Freeport plc (Freeport).  Following allegations about Mr Collidge’s activities, the parties entered into a compromise agreement.  Under the terms of the agreement, Freeport was obliged to pay compensation to Mr Collidge subject to and conditional upon his compliance with a number of warranties.

One of these required him to warrant that there were no circumstances of which he was aware, or ought to be aware, which would constitute a repudiatory breach by him of his employment contract or would entitle or would have entitled Freeport to terminate his contract without notice (summarily). Before payment was made under the compromise agreement, matters came to light which indicated that Mr Collidge was in breach of the warranty.  These included allegations of dishonesty.  As a result, Freeport refused to make payment and he brought a claim for breach of contract.

The High Court found in favour of Freeport.  It held that the company's obligation to pay was conditional upon the statements contained in the warranty being true.  The company had sufficient evidence of gross misconduct which would have entitled it to dismiss Mr Collidge summarily and consequently it was not obliged to pay the settlement monies.

Compromise agreements often contain warranties of this nature.  Employers should check the provisions of their compromise agreements to ensure that there is an express provision that payment does not have to be made if any warranty given in the agreement turns out to be untrue.  It should be made clear that compliance with the warranty is a pre-condition to payment.

Collidge v Freeport Plc  Back

© Pinsent Masons 2007

This bulletin is not intended to be a definitive analysis of legislative or other changes and professional advice should be taken before any course of action is pursued.

Should you have any questions please contact your usual Pinsent Masons advisor, your local office (see below) or hrnetwork@pinsentmasons.com

National Head of Employment

Chris Booth