Fag packet step-up.-A client emailed this week, wanting to issue a final written warning for the chef at his club. He’d been drunk at work twice now, and they’d had enough. On the face of it, that all seems sensible – it’s clearly a disciplinary offence; potentially a dismissal. There was one teeny little snag, though: this ... Read more
My osmosis failure-We learnt plenty about osmosis during “O” level biology; trouble was that by the time it came to the exams, I’d forgotten it all. Perhaps I thought the process of osmosis would bail me out – just sleep with the textbook under the pillow, and my brain would be magically instilled with everything I needed ... Read more
It IS a word!!!-Words are important. Any serious Scrabble player reaching for the dictionary will tell you that. And when it comes to employment law, your choice of words couldn’t be more important. I experienced this recently when a golf club committee member got in touch. A member of staff at the club had submitted a grievance against ... Read more
Easter bank holidays 2024 – action required-Some of you need to start thinking about the Easter bank holidays! Keep reading if your holiday year runs from 1 April to 31 March AND you only give the statutory minimum annual leave entitlement (20 days + bank holidays). In 2024, the Easter bank holidays fall on 29 March and 1 April 2024. So, ... Read more
The greenkeeper shot the apprentice…-The greenkeeper shot the apprentice If one of your greenkeepers decided to shoot an apprentice with an air rifle, you’d assume it’d be okay to give them their marching orders, right? Not so fast… One of our clients decided to sign up with us having lost a big tribunal case based on exactly this transgression. ... Read more
This ad changed my life-This ad changed my life We’ve all tried them – the fad diets. 5:2, 2:2, Atkins, Keto, the list goes on and on – if you’re anything like me, you get bombarded with ads and content promising to help you drop a dress size, lose a stone or climb a mountain on a daily basis. ... Read more
Blown away by Travelodge-I was up in London at the theatre week. In days gone by, I’d likely have rushed out of the theatre to catch the last train home, but I’ve got to the age where that feels much more like a trial than an adventure, so I booked a hotel room close by and decided to ... Read more
Holiday – wise old soul-With better weather and the holidays hurtling towards us, I was reminded of a saying I read a while ago: “Take time for quietness, and you will free yourself from being influenced by the wrong things”. They had a point. Especially when it comes to the workplace. You see, it’s that time of year again ... Read more
Your self-employed shop assistant-Recently, I was giving a talk to trainee golf club managers. And, being the fun trainer I am, I decided to put together a quiz to see how employment law proficient they are. Don’t worry – they’re not meant to be experts; that’s why we exist, after all! Usually, they manage to get a few ... Read more
They’re going to die anyway!-They’re going to die anyway! I saw the other day that Royal Dornoch Golf Club has installed defibrillators and first aid kits on six of its buggies. Five of them are hired out to golfers with pre-existing conditions; the other is for their “roving ranger”, who can help if someone has a problem. It seems ... Read more
No harm, no foul?-No harm, no foul? We’ve experienced a significant increase in sexual assault and harassment cases recently: • The member of a golf club committee that asked a waitress who was offering him a lift home if she was offering to give him a “little sex” • The bar manager that complained about female bra straps ... Read more
Zero hours = zero rights?-One of my friends got a new job the other day. She’s been unemployed since being made redundant last summer and jumped at the chance to do some casual work that used her admin skills. As you’d expect, I had my HR hat on, asking about her contract, sick pay and holiday and all that ... Read more
Zero hours = zero rights?-Zero hours zero rights One of my friends got a new job the other day. She’s been unemployed since being made redundant last summer and jumped at the chance to do some casual work that used her admin skills. As you’d expect, I had my HR hat on, asking about her contract, sick pay and ... Read more
Rounds are up, but people are down-Rounds are up, but people are down Last week’s BRS Golf figures made interesting reading. The number of rounds of golf so far this year is up 100% from the number played in the same period in 2019. But the number of members of golf clubs? Down 6,000 If you’re still a member somewhere, this ... Read more
Honesty is not the best policy…-Honesty is not the best policy… A client of ours had decided to terminate the employment of one their greenkeepers last week, but very nearly bungled the whole thing at the 11th hour. The greenkeeper in question had been there less than two years, had performed poorly for a long time, and had been called ... Read more
AWOL-One of our clients called us at 10:30am on Monday – an employee was 90 minutes late and counting. They’d heard nothing from him, no excuses or explanations, despite trying to call him. What they wanted to know was whether they could just fire him on the spot. The employee in question was a rather ... Read more
10 outrageous excuses for not paying National Minimum Wage-10 outrageous excuses for not paying National Minimum Wage WH Smith, Marks & Spencer and Argos are among more than 200 firms that have failed to pay workers legal national minimum wage (NMW). The employers were found to have failed to pay their workers almost £5 million in a clear breach of NMW law, leaving ... Read more
Bad news for this employer!-Bad news for this employer! Usually I spend my time helping employers to stay the right side of employment law. But this week I found myself helping an employee. Her employer had given her a contract last year, which is impressive in itself – many employers don’t even bother with that! Sadly, the contract was ... Read more
Dull as dishwater-I’m afraid it’s a slightly less whimsical note from me today, as I need to share something with you on whether employees should work their notice period. Yes, I agree, it’s dull as dishwater, but failure to do the right thing around notice periods can spell serious trouble. There are three options when notice has ... Read more
Written Warning from ChatGPT – My Maths Teacher Was Right-Chances are, you might have heard of Artificial Intelligence. It’s been a lot in the media recently, with thousands of words written about how it’s going to take all the white-collar jobs away. I’m a big fan of tech (anything that’ll do the same job better or faster is worth exploring), so I thought I’d ... Read more
