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In running your business the stakes are high and your corporate law advisors need to understand your ambitions and aspirations. At every stage of your business’s life cycle, there are complicated decisions that need to be made, so your legal team should be right there with you with solid, commercial and timely advice. Your corporate team is focussed on solutions. Helping our clients succeed is at the heart of the way we work. Working with our team means you get the balance of technical skill and commercial focus.

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EVENTS & TRAINING

We run an extensive range of online and offline training for all types of businesses and organisations. For more details please contact Helen Freeston.

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Andrew Willshire and Adam Wheal | 27th February 2023

Disability Discrimination Podcast

The Disability Discrimination Podcast is your essential resource for staying informed on the latest issues in disability discrimination in the workplace. On this podcast, legal experts Andrew Willshire and Adam Wheal discuss the unique challenges faced by disabled individuals, while providing practical advice on diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the workplace.

Don’t miss out on this valuable platform for professionals seeking to create more equitable workplaces. Tune in now to stay up-to-date on disability discrimination issues in the workplace!

LISTEN

Danielle Taylor | 4th November 2022

Legal Mythbusting : The Decree Absolute

00:35 Dani talks through the four stages to a divorce proceeding: divorce petition, acknowledgement of service form, decree nisi, and decree absolute
00:17 Dani explains how long a divorce normally takes
01:41 Is Decree Absolute the end? Dani talks through what the decree absolute does not cover
02:03 What happens if couples come to an amicable agreement between themselves? Dani discusses how informal agreements do not prevent a financial remedy application being made and what you should do in this situation
03:27 What are the legal implications if one party re-marries?
03:50 What happens when divorce is based on 2 or 5 year separation?
04:15 The timing of decree absolute, how will this affect you financially? Dani discusses wills, death of a spouse and pension payments
06:41 Reasons you might delay Decree Absolute
06:55 How does Decree Absolute your matrimonial home right?

LISTEN

Charlotte Farrell and Ryan Mitchell | 27th October 2022

Subject Access Request

The Paris Smith Employment Podcast is a regular podcast that discusses all things related to employment law. The podcast is hosted by Charlotte Farrell and Ryan Mitchell, both are lawyers at Paris Smith LLP. In today’s episode, they discuss subject access requests and the key things businesses need to know about them. The GDPR was introduced in 2018 and has led to individuals becoming much more aware of their rights regarding their personal data. As a result, Paris Smith has seen more people making subject access requests.

You can find out more info here: https://parissmith.co.uk/your-business/commercial-law/data-protection-and-gdpr/

01:00:00 – The right to access personal data held by organisations is a legal right given to individuals.

02:00:00 – Personal data is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual.

06:30:00 – Anonymised data can be excluded from a subject access request.

07:00:00 – Subject access requests are being used more often as a way to find information for employment tribunal claims.

07:54:00 – The main use for subject access requests in a commercial setting is to upgrade complaints to “super complaints.”

09:00:00 – The main points to consider when dealing with a subject access request are verifying the requester’s identity, diarising key dates, and trying to locate the requested information.

11:17:00 – Subject access requests are usually free, except for when they are excessive. If someone refuses to pay or withdraws their request, businesses may have trouble recovering costs.

13:38:00 – The business doesn’t have to send everything to the individual who they find. Someone needs to go through it and identify any documents which don’t need to be disclosed.

15:00:00 – Organisations need to include a cover letter with personal data when sending it to someone in response to a subject access request.

16:20:00 – Employees use subject access requests to check their personal data is being processed correctly and tactically.

18:16:00 – The government is proposing to decrease the threshold for an organisation being able to refuse to respond to a subject access request, or to be able to charge a reasonable fee.

19:19:00 – The word vexatious could potentially help to stop requests where the person is only using it to cause trouble for their employer or ex-employer.

19:50:00 – The top tip for dealing with subject access requests is to have a written procedure and use systems which allow for personal data to be easily searched, reviewed and extracted.

21:07:00 – HR and line managers should train all staff on the GDPR and data protection issues, including subject access requests. Staff should be aware of what they can and cannot do with personal information. Deleted emails are still searchable.

23:25:00 – The risks of getting subject access requests wrong include complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office and investigations which can lead to instructions on how to correct procedures.

Transcript

Welcome to the latest edition of the Paris Smith Employment Podcast.

I’m Charlotte Farrell and for today’s podcast we are very pleased to also welcome a guest from our commercial team, our colleague Ryan Mitchell.

We regularly work alongside Ryan on all things GDPR and data protection related and today we’re delighted that he’s joined us to discuss subject access requests and the key things businesses need to know about them. With the arrival of the GDPR in 2018, data protection and the rights of individuals when it comes to their personal data has come to the forefront of many people’s minds.

We are definitely finding that individuals are much more aware of their rights when it comes to how their personal data is handled and we have seen an increase in people, not just employees, bringing subject access requests against business. This brings with it many practical issues need to bear in mind when carrying out their day to day tasks.

So today we’re going to look at some of these issues, not only from the employment angle but also the general issues businesses should be aware of.

So I suppose the first thing we should talk about is what a subject access request is. Ryan, can you give us a brief overview of what a subject access request is.

Of course! A subject access request is a request by an individual (which can be verbal, in writing or via an automated system) to receive copies of the personal information which an organisation holds about them. We call that personal information ‘personal data’.

When making a subject access request, the individual can also ask for additional information about how and why the organisation uses their personal data.

Individuals have a legal right to make subject access requests. This is called the ‘right of access’. It’s a right which is specifically set out in data protection law. Because it’s a legal right, organisations have a legal duty to respond to a subject access request, subject to some very limited exceptions which we’ll come on to.

So it’s a really broad right in that case then which can be very time consuming for a business to comply with. When you say, “personal data” or personal information, what does that cover. Is it any time that someone’s name is mentioned or is it more limited?

So ‘personal data’ means any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual. That individual is called the “data subject” in data protection speak.

To work out whether a piece of information is classified as ‘personal data’ it’s helpful to ask two questions:

1. Does the information identify a living individual? The information could be identifying on its own, for example a person’s name. Alternatively, it might be possible to combine this piece of information with other information the organisation holds (or may in the future hold) in order to identify someone. For example, an employee number can be combined with HR records to work out which specific individual in the business has that employee number.

If we’re combining information to identify a person then we call that ‘indirectly’ identifying personal data. If it’s obvious from the piece of information alone who the person is then it’s ‘directly’ identifying personal data.

2. The second question we need to ask ourselves is whether the information ‘relates to’ the individual. It’s not enough just to be able to identify the individual from the information. The information must ‘concern’ the individual in some way.

Let’s take two examples: the statement “Joe Bloggs lives at 15 Beachcroft Road” and a personnel file note that says “Mary Stewart is dishonest and I think she has been stealing from us”. These are both pieces of personal data. We know this because:

The answer to our first question – does the information identify a living individual – is yes. Each of these two statements contains the individual’s name, meaning they are directly identified.

The answer to our second question – does the information relate to the individual – is also yes. The statement about Joe Bloggs’ address relates to where he lives. The note about Mary relates to her work performance and her integrity as an employee.

Because these are statements containing each individual’s personal data, they would need to be disclosed following a subject access request.

However, let’s take another example. Say we have hundreds of work emails with Joe Bloggs’ name on where the content of the email doesn’t relate to Joe Bloggs as an individual. In that situation, Joe Bloggs’ name and email address on those emails would identify him (so the answer to our first question is ‘yes’) but these pieces of information don’t actually ‘relate to’ Joe (so the answer to our second question is ‘no). Rather, they’re just a record of who sent or received the emails. In this scenario, the emails wouldn’t need to be disclosed in response to a subject access request. The situation would be different if the substance of the emails did actually relate to Joe. For example, because they discussed his performance at work.

The second question, of whether information ‘relates to’ an individual, can lead to some grey areas. When these types of questions arise, a good starting point would be the ICO’s guidance (available online at www.ico.org.uk). The guidance includes a number of worked examples which are really helpful.

But what if the data is anonymised, does it still count as personal data then?

No – if the data is anonymised then isn’t treated as personal data. This is because it doesn’t identify a living individual. Provided you’re confident that the data is truly anonymised, it can be excluded from a subject access request.

Thanks Ryan for that very clear explanation. For three little words the process actually has some quite big implications and many businesses don’t understand that until they have to deal with it in practice themselves. We have definitely found over recent months and particularly since 2018 and the introduction of the GDPR that individuals are much quicker to make a subject access request and much more aware of what thy should be sent. Even though it wasn’t what the process was set up for, we’ve always seen them used in the employment world as a fishing expedition to see if there is are any juicy documents that its worth using to start a tribunal claim. If anything that has got worse since the GDPR.

Ryan, are there any particular ways that you regularly see them used in the purely commercial setting by clients or customers of business?

In a similar vein, we sometimes see customers make subject access requests if there’s a dispute. It’s a very easy way for an individual to upgrade their complaint to a ‘super complaint’ which can take a lot of time and sometimes money to respond to.

The main protection against these sorts of complaints is to have a good subject access procedure in place in readiness. When choosing new IT systems, it’s also a good idea to think about how easy it will be to search for personal data and extract it from the new system if a subject access request is received. This thought process when choosing or developing new systems is known as ‘privacy by design’.

Ok so I think it makes sense to now touch on the process a business should follow if someone makes a subject access request. If someone makes a subject access request there are key steps to take:

Firstly, always check the identify of the person making the request to make sure that it isn’t someone trying to commit fraud. If it’s an employee or someone the business knows personally you can speak to them to check the request came from them. Otherwise you can ask for ID such as a passport or drivers licence or copy of a bill to check the request is legitimate.

Secondly, make sure you diarise the key dates. Since the introduction of the GDPR you have 1 month to process the request. This can be extended by a further two months if the request is particular large or complex. If that’s the case you have to update the person and tell them that you need more time with the first one month time frame so make sure those dates go in the diary and don’t leave dealing with the request until the last minute. In some cases it can take a long time to go through all the documents produced so it’s worth starting early!

Thirdly, always check that the subject access request makes sense and that you understand what they’re asking for. if not you can go back to them to clarify the request and ask them to provide more information. The ICO doesn’t like companies that always ask for clarification though so make sure there is a legitimate reason for asking. The clock stops while you’re waiting to hear back from the person so this can be helpful when the request is very big.

Once you know what is being asked for the business must make reasonable efforts to find the information that was requested. They don’t have to conduct searches which would be unreasonable or disproportionate but will need to explain what searches they have done and why. It might involve searching servers, data bases, email folders and paper filing systems.

Ryan do you want to tell us a bit more about the costs of a subject access request.

Yes of course. So normally a business can’t charge someone if they make a subject access request – there used to be a £10 admin fee but that doesn’t exist anymore.

Now, the only times a business can charge for responding to a subject access request is if:
1. the request is ‘manifestly unfounded’ or ‘excessive’; or
2. the organisation is being asked to provide copies of information which the individual already has.

In either of these scenarios the organisation can charge a ‘reasonable fee’. Alternatively, if the request is ‘manifestly unfounded or excessive’ then the organisation can refuse to process the request altogether.

If you’re thinking of trying to charge the individual then it would be sensible to double-check with them that they still want to proceed, before carrying out any activities which you would look to charge for. If the individual refuses to pay, and you’ve already incurred the costs, then you may struggle to recover the money. If the individual withdraws their request, or part of their request, then you’ve saved the effort and cost of having to respond to it.

Additionally, we’d always recommend taking advice if you suspect a request is ‘manifestly unfounded’ or ‘excessive’. If the data subject complains to the ICO that you’ve unfairly refused to respond to the subject access request for these reasons then the ICO might want to double-check your reasoning. You may face a enforcement action (which could include a fine) if you got it wrong and failed to respond to a valid request.

For this reason, it’s good practice to still process the parts of the request which you don’t object to and then explain in the cover letter why you couldn’t or wouldn’t respond to the other parts of the request. The ICO will see this as a better compromise than refusing to comply with the entire request.
Leading on from this, Charlotte, does the business have to send everything to the individual that they find?

That’s a really good point and one that is often forgotten about. The simple answer is no. Once the company has found all the documents containing the personal information requested, someone needs to go through it and identify any documents which don’t need to be disclosed. There is a long list but some of the most common ones we are see are documents which also identify other people, documents which are covered by legal professional privilege, references, documents for the purposes of management forecasting or business planning which would prejudice the business if the information got out (i.e. a planned redundancy programme) and documents about negotiations between the parties which could cause problems in the negotiations if they were shared.

If any of this information is found the business needs to consider whether the document can be redacted to remove the personal information or whether consent can be obtained from the other people named in the document. If not then this can be withheld and a note added to the cover letter to explain this.

So having mentioned the cover letter, Ryan I know these are letters that you often have to put together for clients when they are responding to subject access requests, what information do businesses have to put in the cover letter when they send the personal information to someone.

Yes, the letter is an important part of the process. The ICO guidance sets out what information has to be in the letter and says which documents need to be sent with it. Often the letter is repeating information that is already set out in the organisation’s Privacy Notice or Privacy Policy, and so much of the content can be adapted from there.

I won’t summarise every item that needs to go in the cover letter, but it’s basically the ‘what, why, where and how long’ of the organisation’s data processing activities. The individual also needs to be reminded of their legal rights, including the right to complain. I’d recommend double-checking the comprehensive list of information in the ICO’s guidance before the cover letter is sent, just to ensure that everything has been covered.

Charlotte, you mentioned earlier that you often see unhappy employees sending subject access requests to their employers. Would you like to talk more about the trends you’ve seen with these types of request?

Yes we definitely do. I’m not sure employees always use them, in the right way though. the idea of a subject access request was so that an individual could check a business was processing their personal data in the correct way and for the reasons it was given to them. For example, not selling their contact details to people who want to sell them new windows, or sharing their health information with insurance companies. In the employment world, people tend to use them in a more tactical way.

We regularly see individuals make a subject access request at the same time as they raise a grievance to complain about something happening at work. Or if they are trying to negotiate a settlement package from their employer, an employee will make a subject access request in the hope that dealing with it will be too difficult for the employer and they will agree to the payment to avoid having to do so. Employees do also do it as a fishing exercise to decide whether or not they want to bring a claim and IU would say that more often than not they bring them for the nuisance factor. Sometimes this works and the employer responds to it, in other situations it annoys the employer and they dig their heels in and comply with the request to avoid giving in to what they can perceive as a threat.

Interesting. From the organisation’s perspective, it’s unfortunate that the law can be used in this way.

I know that last year the government consulted on whether to reintroduce a nominal fee for making subject access requests, like the £10 charge we had under the old law. In the end they decided not to go ahead with it.

Following that same consultation the government did decide to proceed with looking to decrease the threshold for an organisation being able to refuse to respond to a subject access request, or to be able to charge a reasonable fee to respond. You’ll remember from earlier that the current threshold is that the request needs to be ‘manifestly unfounded’ or ‘excessive’. In response to the consultation, the government said they would look to reduce this so that the organisation only needs to show that the request was ‘vexatious ‘or ‘excessive’.

This approach hasn’t been finalised but do you see this change as being a positive for employers?

Yes I really think it would be. We often see the word vexatious used to describe things in the employment world and it could potentially help to stop requests where the person is only using it to cause trouble for their employer or ex-employer. Those types of requests weren’t stopped by the “manifestly unfounded” Category as it didn’t quite fit!

What would your top tip for dealing with subject access requests be Ryan?

I previously mentioned that it’s important for organisations to have a written subject access request procedure. This ensures all the key personnel involved in responding to a subject access request know what to do and can take action within the legal time limit. Where possible, this should be supported by the organisation using systems which allow for personal data to be easily searched for, reviewed and extracted following a subject access request. If searching and collating the data is an issue then there are third party service providers who can help with this process, although they can be costly to use.

A data audit of the organisation’s systems can reveal which repositories of data are most likely to cause an issue. Often these are old, legacy systems or paper-based records which can’t be easily searched. The organisation might want to prioritise searching those sources first when receiving a subject access request. That way they don’t overrun the deadline to respond.

Charlotte, is there anything else which HR teams and line managers can specifically do to prepare for the eventuality of receiving a subject access request?

There definitely are and it is worth investing some time in training all those with line management responsibilities in them to try and make the process as easy as possible if someone does make a subject access request. Some common sense things are :
– to make sure email and filing systems are kept up to date and are easily searchable
– to keep all HR related emails and documents together in one central system and not on individual email accounts or hard drives
– be careful about what is said by email – if in doubt have a conversation
– when writing internal notes and emails, bear in mind that the person it is about and/or a judge could potentially read it in the future. If you wouldn’t want them to read it then reconsider what you’re writing

We also recommend all staff have training on the GDPR and data protection issues in general, including subject access requests so they know what they are and how they fit into the business. This doesn’t just apply to those who manage staff anyone who handles personal information about clients, customers or employees should be aware of the legislation and duties and know what they should and shouldn’t do.

It’s also important to remember that deleted emails are also searchable and so just because something has been deleted doesn’t guarantee that

Before we end our discussion on subject access requests today, I think its worth us just briefly touching on the risks of getting it wrong as well. Ryan do you want to share some final thoughts with us about that?

Of course. If the data subject doesn’t think that the organisation has complied with the process properly then they can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (the ICO). The ICO may launch an investigation in response to the complaint. It will take management time (and possibly legal fees) for the organisation to respond to the ICO’s enquiries.

If the ICO finds that the organisation has not followed the law then it may give binding instructions on how the organisation should correct its procedures and documentation. If there has been a serious breach of the law then the ICO might use its other enforcement powers, such as publishing a public notice about the breaches (which can lead to reputational damage) and/or issuing fines.
It’s therefore worth investing the time to ensure you respond to subject access requests properly and promptly first time around!

So that brings us to an end of our brief foray into data protection and subject access requests. Thank you to Ryan for being our first guest star on the employment podcast and thank you to you all for joining us too. We hope you found it useful. For further information in relation to the issues we have discussed today, please contact us via our website www.parissmith.co.uk or find us on LinkedIn.

LISTEN

Sarah Hayes and Tabytha Cunningham | 28th September 2022

Menopause in the workplace

In today’s episode, we’ll be discussing the impact of menopause on employees, and some of the steps that employers can take to support staff experiencing menopausal symptoms.

01:21: To start with, we’ll hear from Sarah Hayes, an employment lawyer at Paris Smith LLP. Sarah has extensive experience in advising employers on a range of issues relating to menopause, and she offers some great advice on how to support employees going through this difficult time.

09:00: We’ll also be talking to Tabytha Cunningham, who provides some great tips on how employers can make reasonable adjustments to help staff manage their symptoms.

13:53: Finally, we’ll ask Sarah about the usefulness of introducing a menopause policy, and she offers some great advice on what this could include.

So, whether you’re an employer looking to support your staff better through menopause, or an employee who’s experiencing symptoms and looking for advice, you won’t want to miss this episode.

Thank you for listening.

References and further reading

https://www.acas.org.uk/menopause-at-work
https://parissmith.co.uk/blog/menopause-and-employment-law-is-it-a-disability-and-what-steps-can-employers-take/

LISTEN

25th May 2022

Employing Overseas Nationals to Work in the UK

Business Immigration specialists Charlotte Farrell & Jane Biddlecombe look at the issues around employing overseas nationals to work in the UK.

This can seem like a daunting process, brought into sharp focus by Brexit and the end of free movement. It is something we are receiving more and more enquiries about.

Find out more: https://parissmith.co.uk/your-business/business-immigration/

00:50:00 What are the key things employers need to know about if they are thinking of employing oversees nationals to work in the UK on skilled worker visas?
How do you know if the oversees national eligible?

02:30:00 Once you have established that the job role is at the correct skill and salary level and someone can be sponsored to work in the UK in that role, what should the business do next? Charlotte covers the detail of applying for a sponsor licence.

04:15:00 How long does the sponsor licence process take and what costs are involved?

04:30:00 What duties and responsibilities do you have as a sponsor?

05:15:00 What HR policies and procedures should be in place before you apply for a sponsor?

06:09:00 Our experts give more information on the practical steps businesses should take once the sponsor licence has been obtained.

07:40:00 What other routes are available for employing overseas nationals in the UK? We explain the Global Business Mobility visa.

10:30:00 Jane explains the new Scale Up visa – coming in August 2022.

11:11:00 From 30 May 2022 there will be a new route from the Government that doesn’t require sponsorship at all – is this right for your business?

LISTEN

Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell | 3rd February 2022

Hybrid and Remote Working: Practical Implications for Employers

Remote and hybrid working has now become the norm for many businesses. Not only can there be various benefits to this flexibility, but more and more prospective employees look for this when applying for roles.

Employers who have embraced remote and hybrid working however need to ensure they are doing this compliantly; it’s crucial to have the right policies in place and employment contracts.

Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell discuss in our latest episode.

Find our more: parissmith.co.uk/your-business/employment-law/

Download our guide to hybrid working: parissmith.co.uk/wp-content/uploa…brid-working.pdf

00:45
Why should employers formalise their remote working practices?
Employers need to think about how they can support employees who are now permanently working from home.

02:33
What steps do employers need to take to formalise these new processes? Charlotte and Tabytha talk about the importance of having a hybrid working policy and what this should include.

04:35
Key practical considerations – our experts cover health and safety, risk assessments and data protection obligations in relation to hybrid and remote workers.

07:15
How employers can best support their remote employees and the importance of using appraisal procedures effectively.

09:35
Issues with international employees. If employers are happy with having staff in other locations, what practically do they need to think about?

LISTEN

3rd February 2022

Hybrid and Remote Working: Practical Implications for Employers

Remote and hybrid working has now become the norm for many businesses. Not only can there be various benefits to this flexibility, but more and more prospective employees look for this when applying for roles.

Employers who have embraced remote and hybrid working however need to ensure they are doing this compliantly; it’s crucial to have the right policies in place and employment contracts.

Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Charlotte Farrell discuss in our latest episode.

Find our more: https://parissmith.co.uk/your-business/employment-law/

Download our guide to hybrid working: https://parissmith.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/media-Employment-Remote-and-hybrid-working.pdf

00:45
Why should employers formalise their remote working practices?
Employers need to think about how they can support employees who are now permanently working from home.

02:33
What steps do employers need to take to formalise these new processes? Charlotte and Tabytha talk about the importance of having a hybrid working policy and what this should include.

04:35
Key practical considerations – our experts cover health and safety, risk assessments and data protection obligations in relation to hybrid and remote workers.

07:15
How employers can best support their remote employees and the importance of using appraisal procedures effectively.

09:35
Issues with international employees. If employers are happy with having staff in other locations, what practically do they need to think about?

LISTEN

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 2: Long Term Employee Retention

Many organisations are struggling with retaining talent, with some offering high salaries in order to attract and retain key people. But does this keep good staff in the long term? Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Claire Merritt explore the key factors that affect employee retention, and how you can keep existing staff happy and productive.

00:50 Claire talks through the importance of good and frequent communication in your business at all levels.

01:57 Training and development is key. Businesses change all the time and people are looking for their next challenge.

03:17 Managing staff after the pandemic and new skills. How can we effectively manage remote teams and keep them engaged?

05:43 Managing wellbeing and making employees feel valued. What tools are available?

06:55 Flexible working, work life balance and making sure your employees don’t feel overwhelmed.

09:12 How do you advertise your roles and do you mention remote working?

09:50 Managing mental health at work. Do you have training in place to ensure managers can help people properly? This can be key in employee retention.

12:09 The importance of recognition. What motivates people is different for each individual but it is always important to show employees they are valued.

13:44 How should you reward employees?

16:19 Career progression and ensuring employees feel they are heading in the right direction.

LISTEN

30th November 2021

Employee Retention Part 2 – Long Term Talent Retention

Many organisations are struggling with retaining talent, with some offering high salaries in order to attract and retain key people. But does this keep good staff in the long term? Employment experts Tabytha Cunningham and Claire Merritt explore the key factors that affect employee retention, and how you can keep existing staff happy and productive.

Did you miss part 1? Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/user-732927814/employee-retention-part-1-recruitment-best-practice
Find out more: https://parissmith.co.uk/your-business/employment-law/

00:50 Claire talks through the importance of good and frequent communication in your business at all levels.

01:57 Training and development is key. Businesses change all the time and people are looking for their next challenge.

03:17 Managing staff after the pandemic and new skills. How can we effectively manage remote teams and keep them engaged?

05:43 Managing wellbeing and making employees feel valued. What tools are available?

06:55 Flexible working, work life balance and making sure your employees don’t feel overwhelmed.

09:12 How do you advertise your roles and do you mention remote working?

09:50 Managing mental health at work. Do you have training in place to ensure managers can help people properly? This can be key in employee retention.

12:09 The importance of recognition. What motivates people is different for each individual but it is always important to show employees they are valued.

13:44 How should you reward employees?

16:19 Career progression and ensuring employees feel they are heading in the right direction.

LISTEN

Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham | 30th November 2021

Recruitment & Retention Part 1: Recruitment Best Practice

Welcome to the first of our two-part employee recruitment and retention podcast. Lots of business are struggling to recruit and retain the right people for their organisation. Employment law experts Claire Merritt and Tabytha Cunningham explain how getting your processes right can really help.

01:41 What does best practice look like? Claire examines how contracts of employment can be used as a key recruitment tool.

03:51 Going back to basics and focussing on the requirements of the role.

04:30 Your job adverts – be mindful of discrimination claims be careful with language

05:20 Ensuing you have an objective selection and interview process.

06:40 Risks of getting it wrong – the pressure on wage inflation, the gender pay gap.

09:03 A move towards openness – disclosing salaries and meeting candidate expectations.

10:22 Best practice for candidate onboarding and offering the best support.

12:00 Probationary periods and using these correctly.

LISTEN

Sarah Hayes | 13th November 2023

What is the menopause?

00:00.0 Hi, my name is Sarah Hayes, and I’m a solicitor in the employment team at Paris Smith. Whilst it isn’t a new topic by any means, the menopause has been rapidly gaining momentum within employment law and within the wider media as well. A quarter of women have experienced debilitating symptoms, and over 80 percent have experienced it having an effect on them within the workplace.

00:26.1 It’s a topic which has also gained a lot of traction right up to government level, where there’s been lots of debate and recent consultation around the menopause.

00:39.5 Well, the menopause is a natural stage of life which affects roughly half the population. It usually occurs in women aged between 45 to 55 years old, although it can start earlier than this and it can also start later as well.

Sarah Hayes | 13th November 2023

What legal protection do employees have for the menopause?

00:00.0 So all employees have protection under the Equality Act, regardless of how long they’ve been employed for, and this includes certain protected characteristics. Now the menopause itself is not recognised as a protected characteristic, but age, sex and disability are types of protected characteristic which are all going to be really relevant here to consider. Now, the menopause is not recognised automatically as a deemed disability.

00:31.4 Disability has a specific legal definition which a tribunal would need to look at, and generally there we’re going to need to look at how long the symptoms have lasted. Or are likely to last and what the day-to-day impact is there to an individual as well. So there’re lots of things there that will need to be considered, and employers will often need to get some medical input here to help them understand this. So they may need to speak to occupational health, or they may need to speak to a GP in order to understand those symptoms and what the impact there is on the individual.

Sarah Hayes | 13th November 2023

What reasonable adjustments should be made by employers with regards to menopause in the workplace?

00:00.0 So if an employee is disabled, an employer has a legal obligation there to make reasonable adjustments. And the idea is there that the reasonable adjustments are going to try and help to alleviate some of those disadvantages that that individual is suffering as a consequence of their disability.

00:20.5 Now there’s lots of different examples of what a reasonable adjustment will be, and that will really depend on the individual themselves and what they’re experiencing. Sometimes we’re looking at practical adjustments, so in terms of their physical working environment, we might be looking at the temperature, ventilation, other types of practical changes.

00:40.6 So employers are legally also responsible for the health and safety of their workforce and their employees and that includes individuals that are working from home as well. So very broadly they should be carrying out risk assessments on a regular basis so that they can monitor that and they can keep in touch with any changes which may be needed.

00:57.5 And part of that is going to be considering as well whether an individual that’s suffering with menopause or symptoms, whether there are any changes that may be needed there to support their working environment.

Sarah Hayes | 13th November 2023

What should employers do to support staff during the menopause?

00:05.0 So employers need to be mindful that the menopause can impact on staff in a variety of different ways and there’re lots of different symptoms and experiences that people will be having. As a starting point, managers should be trained and familiar with what the menopause is, what the different stages are and what the symptoms are that staff may be experiencing.

00:24.0 It can be really helpful to consider whether you have a menopause champion or a well being champion in the workplace. So that staff have someone approachable, somebody that is comfortable to go and speak to if they are experiencing any problems and they want someone there that they can just go and have a chat with.

00:40.2 And ideally that should be held in a confidential, private setting. We don’t want those meetings to be disturbed or for the employee to feel uncomfortable. So we want to think there about making sure that those are happening in an appropriate environment.

Sarah Hayes | 13th November 2023

Do we need a policy for the menopause?

00:00.0 So it’s not currently mandatory to have a menopause policy, so you’re not legally required to have one. However, it can be quite a helpful document to have a think about. A menopause policy will often signpost an employee to what support is available internally within the organisation and how they can go about approaching that.

00:22.5 So it can be quite a useful document to put in place as a way of making sure staff know how to go about accessing that support and help should they need to do so. And whilst it’s not currently mandatory, it is something that the government is aware of and has been discussing, and therefore there could be changes in the future where in which it could become more required or more custom and expected within organisations.

00.44.7 So I hope you found that a useful overview of the menopause, how it interacts with employment law, and what steps employers should be taking to support their workforce. If you do require any support or assistance with the menopause or anything we’ve discussed in this series of videos, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself or any member of the employment team at Paris Smith.

01:05.1 As a department, we also offer a range of training, including topics such as the menopause, and we can deliver those in house, bespoke to the organisation. So if that is of interest to you, again, please get in touch with us, and we’d be very happy to chat that through.

7th November 2023

Divorce language

00:00.0 Divorce language, the old versus the new. One other point to note under no fault divorce is that there has been a change in terminology. This is often forgotten about because it doesn’t have any impact on the actual divorce process, but it is important for us to demystify those concepts for you.

00:18.8 We’ll start by going through the old language and then telling you what the new equivalent is. Divorce petition, divorce application decree, sci conditional order decree. Absolute final order.

7th November 2023

Divorce and how that relates to sorting out financial matters

00:03.6 As promised, we also want to discuss the interplay between divorce and how your money is divided on separation. Divorce and finances are technically separate, but they run in parallel and they come together at the important stage of conditional order within the divorce proceedings.

00:20.9 This is the first time that a judge can consider an agreement that you and your spouse have reached about money, property, and finances generally.

00:28.2 It’s therefore really important. We often say to clients, particularly given the 20 week reflection period, that it is important to think about timing and getting the divorce underway sooner rather than later. Many people think that getting divorced is all they need to do to formalise their separation.

00:46.1 However, a divorce does not extinguish the financial claims that you have between you, and so it’s crucially important to also deal with the finances and obtain a financial order.

00:58.8 Another important consideration is remarriage and what that might do to financial claims in the future. This will often depend on what happened in the divorce application with your former spouse.

01:09.3 This is known as the remarriage trap. If you are therefore considering getting married, it’s really important that you take advice. This is a potentially very tricky issue, and so you will need specific advice based on the context of your case and your individual circumstances.

7th November 2023

Do you need a solicitor to divorce?

00:02.9 One of the key considerations and concerns that our clients have had over the last 12 months are the costs of the divorce application.

00:09.9 There will be a court fee for the divorce application, and this will be paid by the applicant when sending their application to the court. Normally, that court fee will cover the costs for the entire divorce process.

00:24.2 The court won’t say who has to pay, and that’s why it’s really sensible to have a discussion with your spouse before the application is being made, particularly if you are making it on a joint basis. Some people will want a solicitor to help them with the divorce application. That is entirely up to you. The system has been designed to be user-friendly, but you may want a solicitor to have a look at your answers and check them for you.

00:48.9 This is particularly so given some of the boxes are really important and could have implications for you if it’s not done correctly. In that way, having a solicitor could be viewed as an investment to make sure everything is done properly and you are safeguarding your future.

01:03.5 People often think that the divorce is the most expensive part of separating. The reality is that whilst it is very important, it is largely administrative and usually one of the smaller aspects of your case. Discussions in relation to your money and the arrangements for your children are likely to be more time consuming and therefore expensive.

7th November 2023

How long does a divorce take?

00:02.4 One of the other questions that we are often asked is, how long will it take to get divorced? The application process is online and once that has started and the court has processed the application, it sets in place a 20 week reflection period. This processing by the court is also known as issuing. In this time, a copy of the divorce application, if it’s been made solely, will be sent to the other person for them to acknowledge. They’re meant to do this within 14 days.

00:32.4 If they do not, additional steps will need to be taken as the court must be satisfied that the other person is aware of the divorce.

00:40.5 The 20 week period gives you plenty of time to deal with this.

00:45.2 Once that 20 week period has elapsed, provided the other person knows about the divorce, you can make your application for what is known as a conditional order. Once this application is made, the judge will have a look at all of the papers and make sure everything is in order. If it is, you will get what is known as a certificate entitlement, and this is giving you the date that the conditional order will be made on. Six weeks plus one day after the date of the conditional order.

01:11.1 You can apply for your final divorce order which is what will formally end your marriage. ???? You do need to be a little careful before taking this step, however, as if you’ve not resolved your money, it can have implications, particularly for pensions.

01.26.9 If in doubt, take advice as you don’t want to be financially worse off. And you’ll actually find that a lot of people don’t apply for that final order until the finances have been resolved.

01:37.6 And that’s something that we have a look at in one of our other videos that will come later in the series.

7th November 2023

Who starts the divorce?

00:01.6 We thought we start by looking at who actually starts the divorce.

00:06.9 The reality is that either of you can start the divorce process. Generally, as long as you’ve been married for at least a year and your marriage was r legally recognised you can apply. You’ll need to show that the marriage has permanently broken down.

00:20.7 It’s actually the application form that does that. You work through the form completing the boxes, and one of the statements is to say that the marriage is permanently broken down. One important point to note is that you will need a copy of your marriage certificate to start the process. Don’t worry too much.

00:36.5 If you’ve misplaced the original, you can obtain a certified copy. It’s also really important to ensure that when you scan your marriage certificate in, you do so in colour, as this will avoid unnecessary delay.

00:48.5 Can we divorce together?

00:50.1 I’ve been asked quite regularly over the last 12 months whether there’s any advantage to being the person who brings the divorce application.

00:57.3 The answer really is that it depends, being the applicant does give you an element of control, but otherwise the advantages are limited, so it’s going to depend on what’s important to you. You also need to think about the cost of the application. It is generally the person who is making the application, who is going to have to pay those costs.

01:15.4 It’s really important to bear in mind that who starts the process has no bearing on any money issues that are left to be resolved or indeed what the arrangements for your children should be. I think our top tip is to really discuss matters with your spouse.

01:31.5 Think about who’s going to start the divorce, when you’re going to start it, and actually how the cost is going to be shared. This is a really important point, and I can’t emphasise that enough.

01:42.1 I think it ensures that there are no surprises and also really helps to get your case started on the right track.

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