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United failed to make reasonable adjustments in relation to his working hours, amounting to a Provision, Criterion, or P
JUST CLICK …and we’ll donate to the Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association

LONG HOURS ON TRIAL Punishing hours lead to a claim

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Wg Employment Issue 593/March 2018 OK, EVERYBODY! STRAP IN AND GET YOUR LIKING FINGER READY – we’re going IN! As mentioned a few weeks ago, Monday marked the beginning of Down Syndrome Awareness Week. And we’re once again asking you to unleash a storm of LIKES on Facebook in aid of our nominated charity - Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association. Throughout this week we’re helping not just to raise funds but also awareness. Here’s how it works: 1. Go to Portsmouth DSA’s Facebook page by clicking HERE 2. LIKE the page 3. We donate £1 for your like That’s it. And in three easy moves, we guide new people to discover Portsmouth DSA and chuck a bit more money their way. Since starting this in 2014 – along with loads of other fundraising activities, from dress down days to abseils off the Spinnaker Tower – we’ve raised more than £12,000. Previous funds have been invested in the charity’s School Advisory Service for children and schools; a service that helps the 65 schools the charity works with to build an effective educational setting to meet pupils with Down Syndrome’s individual needs. And if you’re more of a Twitter person, that’s OK. Follow @PortsmouthDSA and we’ll donate £1 for that. A quid to a brilliant cause with just a flick of a finger - It’s that easy!

Putting in the hours And speaking of no time at all brings me to the case of Carreras v United First Partnership Research and a more onerous time commitment. Mr Carreras was employed by United First Partnership Research (United) from October 2011 to February 2014, where he would typically work 12-13 hour days. In July 2012, Mr Carreras suffered a serious bike accident and had to take several weeks off work. Following his return he continued to suffer from physical symptoms of the accident – dizziness, headaches, fatigue and difficulty in concentrating and working late. Following the accident, Mr Carreras worked no more than eight hours a day within the first six months of his return. However, at the end of 2013 he began to work ten hour days but came under pressure to increase his hours yet again. Requests were made by United for Mr Carreras to work later and, as Mr Carreras didn’t object, it was assumed he would do so. Mr Carreras feared he would be made redundant and United would withhold his bonus payments if he did not increase his working hours. In February 2014, Mr Carreras sent an email to Mr Mardel, one of the owners of the business, objecting to working late hours due to tiredness. Mr Mardel then told him, in a verbal exchange, if he did not like it he could leave. Mr Carreras left the office and told a colleague in Human Resources he found Mr Mardel’s behaviour to be abusive and unacceptable – and was resigning. Mr Carreras brought claims of constructive unfair dismissal and disability discrimination to the Employment Tribunal (ET). Mr Carreras argued United failed to make reasonable adjustments in relation to his working hours, amounting to a Provision, Criterion, or Practice (PCP). Both claims were rejected, finding that Mr Carreras was only asked by his employer to work longer hours, rather than being required to do so.

EVENT 2018The EAT found the approach adopted by the ET towards the PCP was too Mr Carreras appealed to the Employment AppealSEASON Tribunal (EAT). narrow. The assumption by United that Mr Carreras would work late became a requirement to do so, amounting to a PCP. SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE th Thursday 7 June

MENTAL HEALTH CHECK th Tuesday 10 July

PULLING A SICKIE th Wednesday 5 September

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT th Wednesday 17 October

12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS nd Thursday 22 November

To book onto any of our events email Karen Clarkson or Gina Spampinato at [email protected]

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Mr Carreras appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). The EAT found the approach adopted by the ET towards the PCP too narrow. The assumption by United that Mr Carreras would work late became a requirement to do so, amounting to a PCP. United appealed to the Court of Appeal. It agreed with the EAT that the ET had been too narrow in its approach and its interpretation of the term “required”. The ET was wrong to dismiss Mr Carreras’ claim and found he was being “coerced” to work late, as opposed to merely expected. It was clear from other parts of his claim that Mr Carreras felt under pressure to work late and “required” would encompass this. This case acknowledges that workplace culture, including spoken and unspoken rules, can make employees feel obliged to work in certain ways. In this case it was the assumption to work long hours that amounted to a PCP. This case shows the broad nature of what can be interpreted as a PCP. One thing that remains unclear following this case is what the outcome would have been had there been no verbal request to work longer hours and if Mr Carreras would have felt obliged to work longer hours out of fear or because the rest of his colleagues were doing so.

Complete bollards “Signing up as a Peace of Mind client was one of the smartest decisions we have made as an organisation… Highly recommended.” Contact us today on 02380 717717 or email [email protected] to find out how Peace of Mind can help your business.

Did you notice any bollards on your way to work today? DID you? No. You weren’t paying attention and so the humble bollard continues on its stationary life journey, unnoticed and unloved. EXCEPT by Katie, a musician in Manchester. Bollards are her friends. In a bid to highlight the inanity of social media, Katie began to take selfies of herself with an assortment of this cylindrical pavement furniture, posting them on Twitter. And now she’s hooked. ‘I was thinking about social media accounts that make me laugh,’ she told the Metro this week. ‘I realised people really like consistency, so I just thought it would be interesting to do it as a social experiment, to see if people were interested in something so inane. ‘I chose bollards because I walk past a lot of them on the way to work so I thought that’s what I would do but I’d do it with a serious face to make it funny.’

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The unexpected result of this is that Katie now has a huge global following and is being sent bollard selfies from all around the planet. Here are WG Towers we’re wondering whether we could start up a similar trend. Postboxes, maybe? Probably been done. Uneven kerb stones? Too down at heel. Old TV antennae? Aiming too high. I’m thinking gates. Wrought iron, wood, tall, short, five-bar, turnstile… Let me know if you can think of a gate I should start with so I can open up my new Twitter account!

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Contact the team Sarah Whitemore (Partner) – 02380 717462 Howard Robson (Partner) – 02380 717718 Lisa Joyce (Associate) – 02380 717447 Emma Kemp (Associate) – 02380 717486 Natalie Rawson (Solicitor) – 02380 717403 DISCLAIMER While every effort is made to ensure that the contents of these diaries are up -to-date and accurate, no warranty is given to that effect and Warnergoodman does not assume responsibility for their accuracy and correctness. The diaries are provided free of charge and for information purposes only. Readers are warned that the diaries are no substitute for legal advice given after consideration o f all material facts and circumstances by an experienced employment lawyer. Therefore, reliance should not be placed upon the legal points explained in these diaries or the commentary upon them.

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