Employment Law Focus

Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, HR teams have been flooded with requests by employees for a copy of the personal data the company holds about them.

This is often done as part of threatened litigation and can be challenging to deal with, not least because the deadline is shorter and HR needs to make a judgment call on how to respond.

The regulator has received a huge volume of complaints about how requests are dealt with, and you don’t want to be the first company to face a fine.

In this episode, we look at:

• The right to refuse a request or extend the deadline;
• How to set the right search parameters; and
• What you can and can’t withhold.

We look at the role of culture, IT and training and how self-serve platforms and automation can help foster an environment of trust and speed up the process.

And we answer questions like: Do you have to use the search terms requested by the employee? And should you search instant messages, texts and WhatsApps?

In our news round-up we look at:

• How much home working is too much, according to a new report?
• Can employers be held vicariously liable for a data breach by a disgruntled employee?
• Is the use of facial recognition technology legal?

Useful links:

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Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email [email protected] or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

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Chronic stress impacts employee wellbeing, productivity and company performance.

With the World Health Organisation now classifying burnout as a workplace disease, employers need to understand their legal and moral duties to prevent, identify and manage this issue.

In this episode crammed with top tips and examples we look at:

In our news round-up we cover:

Useful links from this episode:

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in a future episode – email [email protected] or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tag @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights including our A-Z of employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and write a review.

From air con wars and dress codes to live streaming sports and unexplained absences, summer can present a unique raft of challenges for HR and legal teams.

What starts off as an office moan can quickly escalate, with the most serious cases resulting in a discrimination claim.

In this episode of TLT's employment law podcast, we look at three of the "hottest" issues you might face this summer and throughout the rest of the year, including:

We share some cautionary tales and some best practice advice.

We also look at the latest news headlines including tribunal system delays and the legality of positive discrimination to improve ethnic diversity, and answer your questions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email [email protected] or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and consider writing a review.

If an employee feels they have been the victim of discrimination or harassment at work because of a philosophical belief, they could claim for compensation.

But what is a philosophical belief? Is fox hunting, life after death, veganism, Brexit or Scottish Independence protected under the Equality Act or is this just an opinion?

And what happens when one person's belief conflicts with another's, like Christianity and homosexuality? There is no hierarchy of beliefs so how should employers deal with this?

What impact has social media had on these cases, with it being so easy now for people to express their views on a particular topic?

Philosophical beliefs can be a tricky area for HR teams to advise on, but it's a growing issue and important to get right from a reputational and financial perspective.

TLT's employment team offers their views and shares some advice on how to deal with these cases, including the need to remain objective, listen and to have clear policies on how the company handles discrimination and bullying.

We also comment on three recent news stories including:

Finally, we answer some of your questions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email [email protected] or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Don't forget, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please rate us and consider writing a review.

The Me Too campaign has led to an increase in awareness of sexual harassment at work with companies needing to respond appropriately. In this episode, we look at:

We look at forward-thinking initiatives from the US like the legal obligation to provide training and the use of 'love contracts' or 'relationship contracts', and whether these are likely to be used in the UK.

NDAs or 'gagging clauses' as they're often known are often misunderstood due to the way they're reported in the media – we look at what an NDA is and whether they're likely to be further regulated in the future.

We also cover the latest news, including what we can learn from the UK's gender pay gap reporting data (including for millennials) and how this regulation might evolve, including the likelihood of sanctions.

Send us your questions and we'll answer them in the next episode – email: [email protected] or tweet us using the hashtag #TLTemploymentpodcast and tagging @TLT_Employment

You can find out more about our employment team at tltsolicitors.com/employment

Sign up to receive insights on employment law at tltsolicitors.com/signup

Finally, if you’ve enjoyed listening, please consider writing a review.

Introducing, Employment Law Focus. Presented by Siobhan Fitzgerald, Jonathan Rennie and Fraser Vandal from top 50 UK law firm TLT LLP. We provide employment law advice to public and private sector organisations and were recognised in the inaugural The Times Best Law Firms. We'll cover the important issues in employment today, explain how the law is responding and what needs to be on your radar, as well as answering your questions each episode.

This podcast is for general guidance and represents our understanding of the law at the time of recording.

Specific legal advice should be sought for specific cases.