5OS01 Assignment Example

Task 1 – Short Article

LO1: Understand the legal framework for employment regulation in the UK

You have been asked by your People Director to create a short briefing note for the wider people team, covering this knowledge element. This is part of a learn and share initiative within the organisation. Select a leading case from across the field of employment law (i.e., one decided in one of the higher courts) which you consider has had a significant impact on practice. You can assess it from an employer, an employee or a general public policy perspective. Explain why you think it has proven to be significant. You can draw on examples, published statistics and/or commentaries to justify your argument.

When conducting your assessment, areas you could include are:

• The major sources of employment law and how the case is linked.
• An analysis of the main employment rights and relating to the points of law, how these have developed over time.
• An assessment of how the leading case was decided through the courts and the role of legal and quasi-legal institutions in the administration and enforcement of employment law.
• Your thoughts on future developments relating to the case and general debates surrounding the future of employment regulation in the UK.

Task 2 – Report

LO2: Understand regulations that aim to protect employees from unlawful acts of discrimination

LO3: Understand law in relation to establishment, alteration and termination of employment contracts

LO4: Understand compliance in relation to further regulations relevant to major areas of people practice

Brookes Insurance Group are an SME employing a total of 200 employees across 3 sites. They provide personal and commercial insurance to clients across the UK and have been established since 2003. The Managing Director, Pete Swales, has recently taken a step back from the organisation and Charles Haigh, the Commercial Director, has stepped into the role of running all aspects of the business. There have recently been some increased levels of turnover in certain departments, and it is causing some unrest across the business. Charles has seen a sharp upturn in people management issues and has approached a local HR Consultancy to advise on the risks and how to manage the various situations.

1. Tej works in the commercial team and has been with the organisation for five years. He has always been a solid performer but recently he has started to become withdrawn at work and it has impacted on both his performance and attendance. Following a series of difficult events, Tej is depressed. Tej is managed by Louise, who has worked in the organisation for the last 18 months. Louise hasn’t had a 1:1 with Tej for some time and thinks ‘he’s just being moody’. She is dismissive of the absence and has just issued a first written warning for absence based on the policy triggers.
2. Sean has worked in the Finance team for the past 4 years. He is frequently off work, but his attendance has never been formally recorded nor managed, neither has his performance. Ruby recently joined the team and at times needs to work with Sean. She noticed that there were frequent mistakes and found herself taking on an increased workload to fix the mistakes. After speaking with colleagues, she found that this was a typical thing that happened. In the absence of any performance management, colleagues picked up the slack. Following a particularly costly error, Charles Haigh dismissed him on the spot. He was provided with his notice pay.
3. Phil works as a Personal Lines Advisor and has been with the organisation for 6 years, 4 of these in an administrative role. During one of the acquisitions Phil was assimilated into the personal lines role and provided with some training. 6 months into the role his wife passed away and he was off work for a period of 3 months. Since then, he has been struggling at work and this has been noticed by his manager. Phil can be challenging to manage and whilst he hasn’t been forthcoming with his manager, he has been taking anti-depressants for some time. His manager has raised performance concerns and Phil has not taken this well. During busy times his manager hasn’t always held 1:1s and whilst only a few were missed, there have been some delays on sending notes. Phil started to feel that his manager was targeting him specifically and believed the criticism LO2: Understand regulations that aim to protect employees from unlawful acts of discrimination LO3: Understand law in relation to establishment, alteration and termination of employment contracts LO4: Understand compliance in relation to further regulations relevant to major areas of people practice to be unfounded. The most recent incident involved Phil’s appraisal meeting. Whilst Phil knew the rooms, they had been labelled by the facilitates team incorrectly and Phil had sat in a different (incorrect) room waiting for his manager. His manager sat in the correct room. After 45minutes waiting, Phil’s manager returned to the main office, following closely by Phil, who shouted loudly about his manager leaving him waiting, before announcing to everyone that he was having his leaving drinks that evening. The following day, Phil sent a formal grievance to Charles Haigh, followed by a letter of resignation.
4. Rebecca is 6 months pregnant and is married to Tej. Rebecca has been experiencing a difficult pregnancy which has resulted in frequent absence. She requests time off to attend an antenatal appointment and asks Tej to join her. She is told by her manager, Mike, that she has to make the time up and Tej is told that he cannot be released due to low levels of staffing. In the last 6 months he has been pressured into cancelling his holiday on 3 occasions due to workload in the office. Rebecca has mentioned to Mike that she is interested in taking shared parental leave.
5. Ciara joined the personal lines team as an administrator 5 months ago after graduating from university. Ciara is 23 and is paid the NMW but has not yet received a contract of employment. Jed has been training Ciara. He has worked for the organisation for 5 years, across 2 successive fixed term contracts. His role is to support regulated activity and he consistently works over and above his contracted 40hrs per week. The contract of employment sets out that he has to work additional hours (unpaid) if the business required it. In his role he attends frequent client meetings, meaning that he could be on the road a lot, and this includes hours spent travelling to and from last appointments if there were traffic delays. Jed has raised a grievance, stating that he regularly works in excess of 50hrs a week and isn’t paid for it, believing this to be in breach of Working Time Regulations. He has previously opted out and as part of his remuneration package he receives commission and a bonus. Charles has suggested that his fixed term contract should be ended as he is a ‘troublemaker’.

Based on the information provided:

• Identify and assess the level of risk from claims relating to potentially unlawful acts of discrimination. (LO2)
• What issues do you see with the practices surrounding contractual arrangements? Assess the risks, possible defences and ways to mitigate. (LO3)
• Advise Mike on the practical aspects of family friendly employment rights and the legal implications of a failure to comply. (LO4)
• What potential claims might Brookes Insurance Group face with regards to Ciara and Jed, and what arguments can be put forward to mitigate? (LO4)