Council Recognises Damage done to Whistleblower
The leader of Wirral Borough Council, Jeff Green, has published a blog post in which he recognises a council whistle blower Martin Morton was treated "disgracefully", and apologises to both Martin Morton "and the people we ripped off".
New Ruling on Harassment at Work
(I'm indebted to Daniel Barnett for circulating news of this important decision)
The Court of Appeal has decided on Veakins v Kier Islington Ltd, a case dealing with the extent of duty of employer under Protection from Harassment Act 1996
"Disclosures" v "Allegations"
What is a "disclosure" of information in a protected disclosure? The Employment Appeal Tribunal issued a decision on 11 November 2009 in Cavendish Munro v Geduld (click here for downloadable copy of the judgment ) which provides that for a person to make a protected disclosure they must disclose information about a situation by conveying facts. It is not sufficient to merely make an allegation.
Increase in Vento damages
HHJ McMullen QC, giving judgment in Da'Bell v NSPCC held that Vento damages (for injury to feelings in discrimination cases) should be increased to reflect inflation as follows:-
• lower band: £ 5,000 to increase to £ 6,000
• middle band: £ 15,000 to increase to £ 18,000
• upper band: £ 25,000 to increase to £ 30,000
Source: Daniel Barnett
The prevention of stress at work || a big problem in search of a big solution
There is no doubt that there is massive ambiguity surrounding stress at work. Where there is ambiguity there is good reason to do nothing. Stress is often too complicated a topic to discuss, and many people are reduced to generalities that cut no ice with the decisive, hard pressed, threatened businessman or politician, often under pressure herself, or the nicely financially cushioned public servant who simply hasn’t the time for such wishy washy ideas. ‘Give me answers’ is the universal cry, ‘Don’t give me all this soft crap. Give me a dose of Sugar anytime’.
New Constructive Dismissal Judgment
The EAT has given judgment that helpfully clarifies the relationship between a successful claim for constructive dismissal and the way the (constructively dismissed) employee felt about the way he or she was treated prior to the dismissal.
Mental Health Trap - teachers
This article exposes a piece of legislation that could be abused by an educational establishment wanting to dismiss an employee in a most underhand and damaging way. All that is required is for the employer to express a concern about the employee's "health or mental or physical capacity" for employment, and to make arrangements for the employee to undergo an assessment by an occupational health advisor.
Can a grievance about bullying be a protected disclosure?
One myth about workplace bullying is that it is not illegal. This is a problem for bullied employees, particularly those whose experiences fall outside the protection of anti-discrimination legislation, which apply only to discrimination on six specific grounds. Beyond these, there isn't an obvious course for legal redress open to people bullied for reasons other than their race, gender, age, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability. Personal injury claims require proof of a personal injury, and they cannot be pursued in the employment tribunal, which can make them more complex and expensive to bring.
My Grievance
Grievance
Literally, a grievance is “grounds for a complaint”. The word appears often in the context of employment with the word “procedure”. Employers in the UK are required to operate a “grievance procedure” for dealing with complaints by employees.
Stress
There are different and conflicting ideas about stress. Some say its good for you, others say its bad. The Health and Safety Executive defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them’. What is ‘excessive pressure’ and what is the ‘adverse reaction’?
Bullying
If you're always having a hard time at work, for reasons that don't make any sense, you might be subject to bullying. Bullying isn't usually a one off incident, but a repeating pattern of relatively trivial incidents which all have the effect of making you feel angry, useless, scared about job security, and which prevent you from being as productive as you want to be. You might fight off criticism of poor performance by working harder, but find obstacles in your way. At first, you probably think you must deserve it for a reason you cannot see, or you put it down to the someone else's stupidity. Eventually, when it comes to a head, someone else will probably tell you you're being bullied.
Sanity Check
If you have a grievance that you’re having trouble articulating, it might have crossed your mind that it’s all in your head, and that you should put up with the thing you feel compelled to complain about, and even that you might be paranoid. You might even have had this word used to explain your dissatisfaction with your situation. You would not be the first sane person to have experienced this.