First published on Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Last updated on Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we take a look at the week’s most pressing HR and employment law stories. With over a decade of experience as a solicitor working in employment law, I give my opinion on current trends impacting your business, as well as my own personal commentary on all things HR and legal.
Manager sacked after moving to Cyprus without permission, claims unfair dismissal
First off, we have a story involving a business development manager, (Mr Mathias,) who was sacked after selling his home and relocating to Cyprus without receiving prior permission. He has since filed a case of unfair dismissal.
The manager in question was driving to a dinner with the vice president of the firm when medical firm MMT first claimed any knowledge of the move. Mr Mathias claims he had several conversations with senior management about the proposed move, but none of this was in writing, and they all deny having any knowledge. The case is ongoing, but the lessons are clear.
You may be tricked into thinking that this case encourages your business to avoid putting anything in writing, but it’s quite the opposite. Your first line of defence is clear policies. Flexible and remote working policies should clearly outline what an employee must do if they look to relocate. Next, keep everything in writing. If your policies are clear and watertight, you’ll want any future correspondence between you and staff to be written down to prove you’ve followed your own rules. Store it securely online.
And finally, always seek expert advice if the situation becomes too complex or difficult. If your business is taken to an employment tribunal, you’ll sleep a lot better knowing you did everything by the book and were as fair as possible.
Maternity leave missteps
Returning from Maternity Leave should be a moment of support and clarity—not met with confusion and silence. Well, sadly, one worker recently found herself met with exactly that when she returned to find herself locked out of a workplace that was now closed, with no redundancy pay to show for it. She won €11,500 after her employer failed to follow basic employment laws around redundancy and leave entitlements.
Business owners—maternity leave doesn’t pause employment rights. Communicate and get the processes right. If you’re facing redundancies in your business, it’s important you use the correct tools to do right by your business and staff. Even if you’re parting ways with employees, it’s crucial to end things on a fair and positive note. This is not just to follow your legal obligations, but to ensure your business reputation and future prospects are not hampered.
Hot-desking headaches
An employee has been awarded €20,000 after raising health & safety concerns about working under a construction site while tradespeople cut through the roof above her head. She was made redundant soon after submitting a formal complaint, and the tribunal ruled her redundancy was penalisation for speaking up.
Look—apart from the obvious health & safety disaster waiting to happen, don’t retaliate against your staff for voicing genuine concerns. Not only is it petty and will certainly look that way to an employment tribunal, but it discourages other people from speaking up. And when a health & safety hazard is next apparent to staff, they could just avoid reporting it, leading to an injury, or worse.
If your staff are hot desking to avoid power tools, it’s probably time to rethink things. Investing in a modern and streamlined health & safety software is the smart move that keeps you compliant and future proofs your business against changing regulations.
And that’s a wrap from me. Tune in next time for my take on the latest headlines and employment law stories, helping keep your business ahead!
