In this week’s MMD we focus on Mental Health Awareness week which is taking place this week.

Nils and I are joined on the Podcast by Ken Hall from Tailored Learning Solutions who talks to us about Mental Health Awareness week and the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace.

In addition to our feature on Mental Health Awareness week Daniel has prepared a video on the rights of part time workers and the pro-rate principle.

THE MMD PODCAST

Episode 27:  A Mental Health Awareness Week Special – featuring Ken Hall

Sensitive Content Warning: Please note that this episode discusses topics such as suicide.

Sam and Nils are joined this week by Ken Hall, Director of Tailored Learning Solutions. In this insightful episode, they delve into the evolution of mental health in the workplace. Join them as they discuss how attitudes towards mental health have transformed over recent years and what lies ahead for this crucial aspect of professional life.

https://spoti.fi/3WDHp0F

THE MEDIA HUB

Keep it in proportion

This video considers the right of part-time workers not to be treated less favourably than full-time counterparts, as well as the important application of the pro-rata principle. We discuss the tricky areas of employee benefits as well as how employers might approach the issue of overtime rates for full and part-time workers.

Click here.

Woman who worked unpaid for 20 years was unfairly dismissed

The Claimant worked in the Premier convenience store which was owned by her parents-in-law. She worked a minimum of 40 hours per week assisting with deliveries, working on the till, ordering goods and serving customers since 2002. Despite repeatedly making requests to receive a wage, the Claimant never received an income from this work. However, unknown to her, from 2018 until October 2022, her husband had made declarations to HMRC that she was earning a wage of around £12,500 per year. The Claimant and her husband both became shareholders and directors of the shop’s limited company in 2018. Following this, her husband told the Claimant that she was allowed to take money from the till whenever she wished, but she argued that she could not without express permission.

In February 2022, the Claimant left for her maternal family home in Huddersfield. After a discussion with her husband, it was agreed that she would start receiving a wage of £250 per week, amounting to £6.25 an hour for a 40-hour week. This was paid in cash, there were no pay slips and no records of the payments as opposed to the shop’s other employees. She was also continuously denied time off from work as opposed to her husband who was absent from the shop 4 hours per day.

The wages stopped in October and the Claimant resigned. She then discovered that it had falsely been reported to HMRC that she had been paid wages since 2018. On 12 November, the Claimant was removed as a director without her knowledge or approval and a month later her shares were transferred to her son, however, this was then reversed on 22 March 2023.

The Claimant brought tribunal proceedings for constructive unfair dismissal. The judge stated, “we have no hesitation in concluding the claimant was constructively unfairly dismissed for the reason or principal reason that she took action to enforce her right to the national minimum wage.”

https://www.gov.uk/employment-tribunal-decisions/mrs-p-mehat-v-mehat-six-bells-ltd-1600414-slash-2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

We have lots of exciting events coming up which we would love for you to be a part of.

To register your interest in any event, please email seminars@chadlaw.co.uk. We look forward to seeing you there!

JOIN US FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SESSIONS

Through our relationship with Tailored Learning Solutions who provide mental health first aid courses in our business, we are now able to announce that we are running multiple courses at our Wakefield office including the following:

Mental Health First Aid (2 day course)

• 26/27th June (FULLY BOOKED)
• 25/26th Sept

Mental Health First Aid – Refresher (1/2 day workshop)

• 24th September

Suicide First Aid – LITE (1/2 day workshop)

• 25th June

Suicide First Aid – Understanding Suicide Intervention (1 day workshop)

• 28th November

Mental Health for Managers Workshop (1 day workshop)

• 14th October

The details of these sessions can be found at the Tailored Learning Solutions website: https://www.tailoredlearningsolutions.co.uk/book-online?category=all-services

If you would like further information and details of the cost for these events, please email carolgledhill@chadlaw.co.uk