today's advice
Aunty looks at a-typical grievances
Dear Aunty, I am the HR director of a small business currently facing a very tricky situation. Three members of staff have approached me on a no-names basis to say that the Chief Executive is aggressive and employs bullying tactics to keep the team in shape. Although they all say they want the problem to be addressed and wish to raise formal grievances they refuse to be named as they fear their jobs will be made very difficult by the Chief Executive.

Should I tell the informants that I cannot proceed unless they are prepared to be named? How should I investigate this matter and who should I put in charge when the most senior manager is being accused
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today's top tips
Top Tips on how to minimise the scope for employees claiming that their employment continued during their Sabbatical
In the current economic climate, many employers are using career breaks to retain staff but cut costs. The generation “X” demand for more flexibility in their career has also seen a rise in employees seeking to take time off to spend time with their family, travelling or undertaking further study.  The danger in relation to allowing career breaks without proper protection in place for the Company is that employees can potentially later take advantage of rights based on their continuity of employment having continued throughout the duration of the career break. This is likely to affect both contractual and statutory redundancy policies, and any other employment rights which depend on length of service.
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today's news
Non-solicitation covenants
Restrictive covenant-related case law has developed yet again following the recent High Court decisions in Baldwin (Ashby) Limited v Andrew Maidstone and Towry EJ Ltd v Bennett and others.  But it is a subject that never tires Employment Litigation lawyers as the outcome will almost always turn on the facts: what actually happened in practice?
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hr focus
Objecting to tupe transfers
An employee can object to his employment being transferred to a new employer under TUPE.  He does not need to give a reason.  If he objects then the starting point is that his employment is simply treated as coming to an end on the date of the transfer.  This is not viewed as a dismissal and the employee is not entitled to any compensation.
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