Monday 25 February 2013

Equal opportunities update

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has published new guidance to help employers and employees deal with the expression of religion or belief at work.

The guidance follows the European Court of Human Rights judgment in four cases about religious rights in the workplace, one of which found that an employee suffered a breach of her right to religious freedom for being told not to wear a cross at work.

The Commission has therefore produced straightforward, expert guidance to clarify the law.

Religion or belief in the workplace: a guide for employers following recent European Court of Human Rights judgments - Employer Guidance Here  Legal Explanation Here

Meanwhile on 1st October 2012, new provisions in the Equality Act 2010 come into force, extending the ban on age discrimination to cover services, public functions and private clubs and associations - with some notable exceptions. Direct and indirect age discrimination, harassment and victimisation will be unlawful when providing services and when carrying out public functions. It is irrelevant whether a service is provided by the private, public or voluntary sector, and whether it’s for payment or free of charge. More Here

If your organisation is looking for training for your employees on The Equality Act 2010 we would like to help.

jml Training has a course that will cover:

The law covering all the protected characteristics and what behaviour is and is not acceptable.

Identify what stays the same, the changes, extensions and new introductions for example:

Changes to the definitions of discrimination

Harassment and third party harassment and its extension to the other protected characteristics

Victimisation changes

The risk of ignoring or seeming to approve inappropriate behaviour and personal liability.

How discrimination can affect the way an employer functions and the impact that generalisations, stereotypes, bias, inappropriate language in day-to-day operations can have on people's chances of obtaining work, promotion, recognition and respect.

What to do if staff experience harassment or discrimination

Taking a responsible approach as an employee


Find out more Here
There has never been a better time to invest in your organisation's future than investing in training now





Monday 11 February 2013

Training and Business News Updates

We have listed below a roundup of what has been happening since the start of 2013.

The Learning and Performance Institute hosted  the annual Learning Awards last Thursday, 7th February. he event was hosted by BBC presenter Susanna Reid at The Dorchester Hotel In London.

Categories included Learning Company of the Year which was won by The Mind Gym. The category for Learning Department of the Year, which was dominated by a host of household names including McDonald’s Restaurants, Legal & General and Ernst & Young, was won by First Data.


The UK’s largest female business community, everywoman, has announced the finalists in the 2013 FDM everywoman in Technology Awards, the country’s flagship programme celebrating the successes of the women leading the way in the profession. Passion, drive and commitment are just a few of the attributes recognised in these talented women who are laying the foundations for future females to follow in their footsteps.

UK Employment on the up - Official figures released on the 23rd January by the Office for National Statistics showed that total unemployment has now dipped to 2.49 million - lower than the figure posted in spring 2010 - as the number of young people and individuals out of work long-term declined.


The Ken Blanchard Companies and Universal Consensus, LLC, have entered into a collaborative relationship in order to serve public sector clients more effectively. The organizations have utilized their world-renowned, research-backed strategies to create and deliver a specialized cross-cultural leadership training solution for the public sector in order for leaders to appropriately interact with their international counterparts.

National Training Awards - The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) have confirmed that from 2013 it will no longer hold a programme of National Training Awards (NTAs). The landscape of awards ceremonies has changed dramatically since the NTAs were launched in the late 1980s and many other organisations now host programmes and recognition events, giving employers the chance to illustrate the merit of investing in quality skills training for existing and new staff.

Eweida Ruling Implications for Diversity Policy - The decision made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in the case of Ms Nadia Eweida could have serious implications for employers and policy makers when they are creating policies about what is deemed to be acceptable dress code in the workplace. After examining the case in more detail, it's possible to draw some conclusions about the impact the case will have for employers going forward. More at Diversitylink website


Changes to unfair dismissal pay-outs do not go far enough, says IoD (Institute of Directors) Commenting on the publication this morning of the Government’s response to the consultation, ‘Ending the Employment Relationship’, including changes to compensation for unfair dismissal claims, Alexander Ehmann, Head of Regulation at the Institute of Directors, said: “Business will welcome the 12 months’ pay cap for unfair dismissal claims as evidence of progress towards a more balanced system. But they will be disappointed that the Government has refused to reduce the overall cap from its current unnecessarily high level of £72,000. Two-thirds of businesses who responded to the consultation felt the cap was too high. Most successful claimants receive less than £5,000 in compensation, and leaving the cap so much bigger than this only helps to create unrealistic expectations, and encourage tribunal cases which could be sorted out more quickly and easily before that stage.”

If you are looking for Management Training for your staff in 2013, jml Training offers a large selection of in house training - Find out more Here There has never been a better time to learn.