The new duty to take steps to prevent sexual harassment
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published updated technical guidance for employers on the steps they can take to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Remember the new legal duty will apply to your business from 26th October 2024.
The new 8 step guide is here.
Simple and effective! Please read and deploy. Failure to do so could come at a cost.
The new right to work guidance
The Home Office has issued new versions of the Employer’s Guide to the Right to Work Checks. Essential reading for all recruiters!
When a hobby helps?
An employment tribunal has ordered Thames Valley Police to pay a former sergeant more than £1.1m for forcing her to quit when it withdrew permission for her to run a hobby business that helped her cope with work stress and PTSD. Katrina Hibbert, has a disability within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010 (depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder). She joined the force as a police cadet at the age of 16 and began working at Thames Valley Police in 2004. She was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the same year and later worked on child drug and sexual exploitation cases. She began to suffer from symptoms in 2018. She was advised by Occupational Health that hobbies and interests outside of work would help and over time she set up a business decorating themed party tents for events and permission was granted by the force for her to be able to do this. In February 2019 she became ill and was unable to work. However, she continued to run her business. Thames Valley then revoked the grant that allowed her to work outside of the police force because she was ‘actively carrying out your business interest whilst off sick” and launched an investigation and disciplinary process (which was later abandoned). Katrina Hibbert resigned in January 2020 citing the withdrawal of her permission to run a business and the misconduct investigation. The tribunal concluded that she had in fact found her party business to be ‘highly beneficial to her mental health’ and that Thames Valley had discriminated against her by failing to make reasonable adjustments to its policy to allow her to continue to work in this capacity. The tribunal rejected Thames Valley’s arguments that the party business represented potential reputational damage and said that they could have imposed some restrictions on the party business instead of withdrawing consent altogether. The damages were high because this was a discrimination case and that means that damages are uncapped. In this case, the tribunal had concluded that the claimant would have worked until she was 60 years of age but for the dismissal and that she would have been promoted to the rank of inspector. The tribunal also awarded damages of £34,000.00 in relation to feeling and personal injury.
You know my opinion on the subject of disability, discrimination and reasonable adjustments? Always, always seek expert opinion from occupational health and always think creatively about what a reasonable adjustment might look like. Blanket refusals to accommodate a disability are always a risky strategy.