Workplace Discrimination - Employers Need to Respect Employee"s Redundancy Rights
As the recession continues to grow and more and more businesses are being forced to make substantial cutbacks to their numbers they need to ensure that all cuts they make are both fair and legal for everyone.
This is especially the case when it comes to women as the latest official employment statistics that indicated that the amount of women in full time work fell by 53,000 in the last quarter (compared to 36,000 men who are no longer in work).
This indicates that women are losing their jobs at double the speed of men and it could indicate that some of the people that are losing their jobs are indeed being discriminated against by companies.
Many companies may be looking at ways of cutting costs any way they can and they may look at cutting the costs associated with maternity leave and the flexible working rights.
A leading Employment Solicitor in Hampshire has claimed that employers need to tread more careful and follow correct protocols when looking at making job cuts otherwise they may face even more problems and cost if they are found guilty of discrimination.
Companies should consider the fact that the amount of compensation that can be awarded for a successful claim relating to discrimination of Age, Sex, Race, Disability, Religious Beliefs or Sexual Orientation has no ceiling and for employers who are found to guilty of discriminating on any of these grounds.
The Equality Bill is to be published in March and it will be interesting to see if there will be a package of non-statutory measures to address these issues directly.
It is important for companies to be aware of what the key steps to be addressed and adhered to when looking at making any redundancies in the future: oLiaise with staff and work with union representative before deciding on the future of any staff oNotify staff as soon as possible as to the course of action and if necessary ensure that all payments and outplacement support are given.
oEnsure that any decisions that are made about which members of staff are to be made redundant are based on purely professional terms and that there are no elements of discriminatory elements in the decision.
This is where seeking advice from employment solicitors can be hugely beneficial.
oDecide whether the staff that are being let go can be re-assigned to other departments If your business is facing financial problems and your fear that you will have to make redundancies and that you fear that you will have to make redundancies then you should consult with a specialist employment solicitor to guide you through difficult decisions.
This is especially the case when it comes to women as the latest official employment statistics that indicated that the amount of women in full time work fell by 53,000 in the last quarter (compared to 36,000 men who are no longer in work).
This indicates that women are losing their jobs at double the speed of men and it could indicate that some of the people that are losing their jobs are indeed being discriminated against by companies.
Many companies may be looking at ways of cutting costs any way they can and they may look at cutting the costs associated with maternity leave and the flexible working rights.
A leading Employment Solicitor in Hampshire has claimed that employers need to tread more careful and follow correct protocols when looking at making job cuts otherwise they may face even more problems and cost if they are found guilty of discrimination.
Companies should consider the fact that the amount of compensation that can be awarded for a successful claim relating to discrimination of Age, Sex, Race, Disability, Religious Beliefs or Sexual Orientation has no ceiling and for employers who are found to guilty of discriminating on any of these grounds.
The Equality Bill is to be published in March and it will be interesting to see if there will be a package of non-statutory measures to address these issues directly.
It is important for companies to be aware of what the key steps to be addressed and adhered to when looking at making any redundancies in the future: oLiaise with staff and work with union representative before deciding on the future of any staff oNotify staff as soon as possible as to the course of action and if necessary ensure that all payments and outplacement support are given.
oEnsure that any decisions that are made about which members of staff are to be made redundant are based on purely professional terms and that there are no elements of discriminatory elements in the decision.
This is where seeking advice from employment solicitors can be hugely beneficial.
oDecide whether the staff that are being let go can be re-assigned to other departments If your business is facing financial problems and your fear that you will have to make redundancies and that you fear that you will have to make redundancies then you should consult with a specialist employment solicitor to guide you through difficult decisions.