HR Focus - September 2011

Welcome to latest edition of the HR Focus newsletter

Later this month we are holding breakfast seminars on absence management. The dates and times are as follows:

• 27 September 2011        Weightmans office, Liverpool
• 28 September 2011        Weightmans office, Birmingham
• 29 September 2011        Weightmans office, Manchester
• 30 September 2011        Weightmans office, Leicester
• 04 October 2011            Cottons Spa & Hotel, Knutsford
• 06 October 2011            Weightmans office, London

To book your place, please click here and fill in our online registration form, specifying which venue in the other information box.

Tightening performance management procedures

Laura Kearsley, Associate in the Midlands team writes for Retail Week on the topic of dealing with performance issues to put retail employers in the best possible position to defend claims from employees who are dismissed on grounds of capability.

Public Sector Equality Duty finally begins to take shape

Mark Landon, Partner in the London team and a member of the Law Society's Equality & Diversity Committee, summarises the draft specific duties that have recently been published in support of the Public Sector Equality Duty and which are being debated in the House of Lords during September.

Reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010

Steve Peacock, Partner in the Liverpool team considers the recent decision in SalfordNHS Primary Care Trust v Smith about what adjustments will be reasonable and what factors an employer should consider.

TUPE – the duty to inform and consult

Georgina Porter, Associate in the Midlands team considers employers’ duties once the decision has been taken to pass any or all of the business to a new owner.

And finally, in our Question and Answer section, Mark Hatfield, Partner in the Manchester team answers the question

One of my employees has made comments on their social media site which are damaging to my business and which have upset other employees. Can I take disciplinary action against the employee?

Please send any questions for our Q&A feature to askemployment@weightmans.com and your question could feature in a future edition!

This update does not attempt to provide a full analysis of those matters with which it deals and is provided for general information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for legal advice.

Weightmans LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance on the information in this update. The copyright for this update is owned by Weightmans LLP 2011.