Twas the night of the office Christmas party...

Let’s all deck the halls with boughs of holly

Party time, the season to be jolly

With short skirts, earrings and reindeer hats

A few vodkas at home and then off to get rats'd

As grumpy John from accounts asks Edna to dance

In walks the boss, just back from France

He makes straight for the bar, full of French bonhomie

And says “Over here folks the drinks are on me”

This is the moment when he should have known better

But it’s all a laugh, bit of fun and he’s a go getter.

Next thing he knows Lucy’s perched on his knee

And he’s fooling about and his hands are quite free.

Her boyfriend takes umbrage, Lucy heads for the loo.

It goes down in history as a “hell of a do”.

But come the next day with his head in his hands

He opens a letter that makes big demands:

Sexual harassment and a promised pay rise

Will his wife believe that it’s really just lies?

From all at The HR Dept, we wish you a very Merry Christmas

Why letting loose snakes into the office isn't the best idea...

This week we came across a rather unusual report of an angry Indian snake charmer letting snakes loose in a government office! Apparently Mr Hakkul, who was the go-to when there was a snake on the loose in the area, campaigned for a plot of land to keep his snakes. After several delays in dealing with his request, Mr Hakkul had come to the end of his tether and had his revenge on the officials, causing chaos.

Photo from BBC

This cleverly links us to the importance of leadership and management within any organisation. The HR Dept continues to preach about being proactive rather than reactive. Sadly no one has a crystal ball; however foreseeing issues before they come to a head, is the key to dealing with issues effectively. In this case, there had clearly been miscommunication, confusion and upset felt by Mr Hakkul. Ignoring a problem and assuming it will go away will not achieve anything, in an extraordinary case like this or in the office environment.

The HR Dept advises managers as always to identify an issue quickly before it becomes a problem and escalates. Following policies and procedures will enable you to deal with difficult situations more successfully. The role of a manager is not just in the title, it is the ability to manage people and ‘prevent people problems’...  

"Help Wanted"

Why it is never good when you see an advert posted for your own job...

After seeing a ‘help wanted’ advert in a newspaper for a position that looks suspiciously like your own and included your boss’s phone number, what might you do? We recently came across this tale and this is exactly what happened to an employee of an architect’s firm in Florida.

The employee, confused, believing they were about to lose their job, made the rash decision to go to the architect’s office and erase an eye watering seven years worth of drawings and blueprints, estimated to be worth $2.5m (£1.5m).

Naturally the employee was caught, arrested, charged... and then fired.

Making matters even worse, it turns out the job was for the owner’s wife’s business.

Wondering whether the employee submitted an application for the other role? Probably not.

Unemployed youth: Disillusioned or misunderstood?

The HR Dept is disappointed and concerned to see that figures of youth unemployment have recently reached record highs. We recognise that the majority of unemployed 16-24 year olds do make every effort to get on the job ladder, but at the moment there are limited opportunities. However, Conservative politician Norman Tebbit has gone further and criticised the lack of ‘get up and go’ from UK graduates, sparking an interesting debate on motivation of the younger UK workforce at a time of high unemployment generally.

The reality is though, that the figures are likely to get worse before they get better. The Government will launch a £1 billion ‘youth contract’ to fund six month work placements for up 410,000 individuals. This is very positive, as it is so often the case that young workers have the theoretical knowledge but not the practical application. It has the potential to help build a younger worker’s confidence as everyone remembers their first day of work as it can be daunting stepping into an unknown environment! Once we know more about it, we will put more information out.

Find something you enjoy and are good at and you will hit the ground running

The critical point about younger workers disillusionment with the working world can be highlighted with some research we discovered recently - finding that a staggering 48% of people aged 16-24 said they would not work for a firm that prohibited social media use. Whether for work purpose or not, it shows a new trend of younger individuals looking to use social media in every part of their lives, whether it be personal or working.

Advice is to any young worker looking for their first role:

Look for something you want to get involved in or a role which you can match your skills against and present yourself as a positive, hard working and ambitious candidate and deliver on that promise.

Christmas parties - Where has the fun gone?

Where indeed?

It is the definition of fun in regards to a Christmas party that needs some refining:

A social meet up at Christmas to thank staff members for their contribution to the business, whether paid for or not.

The problem is that there are so many stories that come out of Christmas parties that it means it can all sound like employment law and HR is the Christmas Grinch!

Though it may not sound like the Christmas spirit the reality is a business can be liable for the action of their staff and be the ones footing any legal bill.

HR Dept top tips for a Christmas Party without further cost;

• Make sure all of your staff (including directors) are aware that the Christmas party is an extension of the workplace. Yes, people should enjoy themselves but as a business owner you have a responsibility to them and you could be the one picking up the pieces
• Ask employees to use their common sense. Regardless of where you hold it, they are employees representing your business brand
• Be mindful if you have any staff under the age of 18
• If the party is in the office, keep the photocopier out of bounds
• Have a range of food and soft drinks available so that individuals religious observance is catered for
• If the staff do is during the week, make clear that everyone is expected at their desks at normal time the following day - or organise it on a Friday!

Here are some examples why:

'Gossip about an employees pregnancy following a Christmas party'

'Teacher loses sacking appeal after punch up'

'Explicit text message told husband of wife's affair'

'Millionaire boss humiliated as tribunal rules he sexually harassed employee'

We aren’t part of the ban the Christmas party brigade, it is these and many other untold stories that did not hit the media serve as a reminder of an employer’s liability when organising an event that should be seen as reward and time of enjoyment.

Anti Bullying Week 2011 “Stop and think – words can hurt”

This week is Anti Bullying Week, with the theme “stop and think - words can hurt”, a campaign that the HR Dept echoes.

Creating a policy to combat bullying and harassment is great down on paper, however it is the example set by management and proactive actions of all staff which will determine the success of any policy, especially in regards to action against bullying and harassing behaviour.

There have been several cases in the past accompanied by hefty compensation payouts for victims of bullying and harassment where is it is clear there have been fundamental failures in regards to dealing with incorrect behaviour. 

Being left out in the workplace can be a form of bullying

Bullying and harassment comes in many shapes and forms and is defined by the eye of the beholder. There is no exhaustive list stating ‘this is bullying or this is harassment’ but it comes down to not treating another human being with dignity and respect.

The ability of management to set an example but to also spot the signs of any incorrect behaviour in the workplace is crucial in order to deal with any issue promptly and professionally.

Delivery of your policy is fundamental and here is The HR Dept advice:

• Foster a culture of openness
• Zero tolerance on bullying - set this out from day one
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect -  this is your brand and reputation
• Investigate thoroughly any allegation of wrong doing
• Be aware of the rise of social media and actions of bullying/harassment can take place outside the actual work environment

Winter 'Trips'

This week we have a special guest blog from Maxine of The HR Dept’s Health and Safety Service. Get in touch via twitter @MMatthewsHRHS

As the winter season approaches, employers should be hoping the only ‘trips’ their staff experience this winter are for late winter sun and skiing. Slips, trips and falls account for 33% of all major injuries in the workplace - which results in 2 fatalities a year. On average there is 1 slip, trip and fall every 3 minutes, an alarming number of preventable accidents. So with figures so high how can we reduce these, especially with winter and the inevitable snow creeping up on us?

Maxine has provided some top tips on how to avoid slips trips and falls in the workplace this winter season:

·         Carry out work place inspections - ensuring nothing is left in walkways for example; boxes, trailing cables, work equipment.

·         Get your staff involved in hazard spotting, carry out workplace risk assessments.

·         With the cold and icy weather, ensure outside areas are gritted to prevent slips and falls. Encourage staff to wear suitable footwear during the cold snap, high heels look good but are really not practical on ice and snow!

·         Ensure spillages and melted snow are cleared up – without forgetting the all important yellow sign.

·         Implement an efficient housekeeping procedure.

·         Ensure any damaged flooring is replaced or fixed.

This should get you off to a downhill start on controlling trips in the workplace…

The HR Dept is promoting awareness of Health and Safety in the workplace, and wishing all places of work an accident free environment.


@MMatthewsHRHS

National Stress Awareness Day 2011

Today marks National Stress Awareness Day, with the theme this year being ‘Wellbeing and Resilience at Work’. With cut backs across the board, especially in small and medium sized businesses and ‘survivors’ of redundancies picking up the slack, we at The HR Dept are not surprised to hear that stress levels in the workplace have doubled in the last 4 years.

We always advise employers to have a proactive approach in HR, but particularly with issues related to stress. Kate Stuart, a massage therapist who works through one stress related knot at a time, has provided a great way for employers to spot the signs of stress in their workers:

S -houting

T - earfulness
R- eddening or blushing
E- xhaustion
S- leeplessness
S- ighing

It was recently revealed that stress was the main cause for long term absence, as demonstrated by António Horta-Osório, Chief Executive of Lloyds Banking Group who has taken temporary leave due to fatigue. Kate adds “where the responsibility of the level of care is falling on the shoulders of employers, offering well being services for employees could be a small investment”.

By identifying issues early, employers can prevent stress related absence and waning performance.

To find about more about National Stress Awareness Day, go to http://www.isma.org.uk/national-stress-awareness-day/

Having a Quiet Word

Making the considerable financial investment to recruit, train and then hold onto talented workers is an even more time consuming activity during unstable economic times, but thoroughly worth it in the long run. Your brand will only grow if you have committed employees talking positively and proudly about your product or service.

This week has seen proposals for sacking lazy workers, a report leaked in The Daily Telegraph about abolishing unfair dismissal rights and the idea of being able to ‘have a quiet word’ in an under performing employees’ ears without repercussion. This has totally shifted the focus that good management standards and leadership are a vital force in being able to motivate and manage a workforce for success.

Any reduction in red tape is always going to be welcomed whether in large or small businesses; however they aren’t really that helpful. Any amendment or abolishment to any employment law takes time, and will always throw up other issues. In the case of the three proposals above, this will lead to an increase in discrimination, whistle-blowing and health and safety claims at employment tribunals. These types are often the most expensive claims to deal with in terms of actually getting to a tribunal to defend a case.

The reality is (and we know this because we speak to SME business owners everyday) a claim by a disgruntled employee is an employers biggest fear, because even if there isn’t a legal basis to the claim, they have to spend money defending it robustly and their time is taken up dealing with it, not focused on growing their business.

HR rant over – onwards and upwards

Is it OK to dismiss staff by text message?

Let’s quickly answer that one: NO!

Text messaging is a great way to communicate quickly to contacts, but it is impossible and unethical to convey a difficult and delicate dismissal message in 160 characters.

What might that text message read like? It might resemble what Lord Sugar says in “The Apprentice”, “It is with regret that you are fired” [ending with a finger pointing emoticon?]

It has The HR Dept running for the hills!

We’ve also come across other shocking ways in which employees have been let go; a schoolgirl was sacked from her Saturday job via Facebook: 

"I had to tell the owner bout u losin that tenner coz obviously the till was down at the end of day. She wasn’t very pleased at all and despite me trying to persuade her otherwise she said I have to let u go. I'm really sorry”

Another case we dug up reported a store boss setting the fire alarm off to gather his staff outside only to tell them they’re out of a job! 

We haven’t spotted any Twitter dismissals yet, but we are sure it is only a matter of time. With only a 140 characters to use, it would be short and sweet. But again the advice is resist...

If you need to dismiss a member of staff for whatever reason and feel yourself reaching for Facebook or that fire alarm, reach for the phone instead and call The HR Dept!

On Strike!

This week Unison revealed more than 1 million public sector workers are to vote for potential strike action, in the row over public sector pensions – with a day of action planned for 30^th November.

We were asked a question recently by a concerned SME employer on the affect this may have on their workplace, not because their staff were going out on strike but...

Q: Some of my staff are expecting not come to work on 30^th November because schools are closed and they have to look after their children? Do I have to pay them?

The HR Dept answer: Oh dear it appears now is the winter of our discontent! The reality is, no, you don’t. I would tell them they have plenty of time to plan ahead, so it won’t be a dependent emergency and they can get into work. Alternatively, start a crèche!

Naturally, all employees have the right to have reasonable unpaid time off for dependents in emergencies. This could be caring for a sick child or dependent, when childcare has broken down or dealing with an unexpected incident involving the child during school hours. With timelines being prepared in advance however, pragmatic steps should be taken by a worker to ensure alternative arrangements are made. Of course there are always exceptions, so being a supportive employer and encouraging workers to discuss care issues is advisable.

Are you an employer experiencing something similar? Please leave a comment below!

Dress Codes

Business dress codes have changed dramatically in the last 50 years. Did you know in the 1960’s, Bowler Hats were favoured by city gents as it was the ‘hat that won the West’.

We have therefore commissioned a short survey  to find out how many employers still have a formal dress code for their staff. The survey will identify which employers and industries have a formal dress code and how they enforce it.

Employers have a right to establish a dress code for employees for many reasons – image, health and safety, but the HR Dept is looking to see whether employers are still thinking in the 60’s when considering a dress code.

Click here to kindly answer our 30 second survey (all kept anonymous!) 

Don't let your employees crack!

How satisfied are you with your job? The annual World of Work survey was published this week, finding a whopping 62% of UK workers are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their employers, as workloads increase with no extra reward being received

Employers are still facing the plight of hard and very uncertain economic times. With increased workloads, employees are feeling disengaged and unmotivated due to longer working hours and pay freezes.

Let’s put our violins down for a minute and be proactive: there are many ways that an employer can boost morale amongst employees and recognise a job well done without the need for a cash injection.

Here are our top tips:
·        Know your employees as individuals. Take an interest in their lives: families, pets
·        Say thank you, and mean it!
·        Public recognition: if an employee gets positive feedback from a customer, announce it so the whole team can hear.
·        Have an awards ceremony! Most improved performer, star sales person, best suggestion etc. Make sure prizes are relevant to the employee. It is no good giving free car parking to a non driver. The prizes don’t have to be high value and you can make them fun!

Bear in mind HMRC tax on benefits in kind. Trivial gifts such as a bottle of wine, bunch of flowers or chocolate would be regarded as trivial but all cash payments should be declared on P11d’s.

Most important tip: don’t let your employees crack!

Office Olympics!

With all the hype around the Olympics we have found some interesting office Olympics antics… 

(HS Dept please cover eyes and ears)

Here we having Office Rowing:

And here we have Office Hurdling! We hope there wasn't too much injury!

Let’s be honest, it made us laugh but not something we would encourage in any workplace…

Working Mum's Balance of Career and Family

HR Magazine published an interesting article this morning discussing the work/life balance that working mothers face. Famed Hollywood actress Sarah Jessica Parker is returning to the big screen this weekend with her new film ‘I Don’t Know How She Does It’. Based on a novel written over a decade ago, it follows the difficulties a working mother faces with balancing her career and her family. Unfortunately, it turns out that Kate (Parker) cannot ‘have it all’. Women have been balancing their careers and motherhood more and more in recent decades and the questions begs: “is it possible to successfully combine career and family?” 

In today's modern times, we think yes. With the increase in family friendly employment legislation steadily over the last decade working parents are now able to request:

• More flexible working arrangements
• Better pay and benefits when on maternity or paternity leave. 

If all businesses were like a Hollywood movie, it would mean that it is all resolved happily in the end. However advice to business owners, there have been many high profile cases surrounding a business’s failure to deal with flexible working requests by members of eligible staff for example Commotion Ltd v Rutty 2006


Don’t count on Hollywood to give any answers – Get in touch with The HR Dept!

‘I love your new bob!’ ‘I love yours too!’

Employers have a right to establish a dress code for employees for many reasons – image, health and safety etc. When considering a dress code you might think that hard hats would be appropriate for factory workers, and suited and booted in an office. But when a Japanese company recently ordered 2,700 staff to get the same haircut, our eyes widened and mouths dropped.

A Japanese construction firm has requested that men go to the barbers and ask for a ‘short back-and sides do (slightly longer on top) while the women adopt a ‘cute bob’ with a longer fringe that can be swept to one side.
While you gather yourself, it is worth mentioning that the company maintains that these identical hairstyles will reduce power consumption, a key environmental issue in Japan.

It appears this isn’t the first case of environmental friendly hair loss with a Japanese City back in 2010 seeking to ban beards at work.

Beards in the British workplace have even reached the Employment Appeal Tribunal with the famous case Mohsin Mohmed, a former customer service assistant at Euston Station, who claimed religious discrimination when he was dismissed for refusing to trim his beard to a fist's length - four inches. The appeal tribunal found that he and Virgin had agreed that he trim his beard to this length and that his treatment was no different from a non-Muslim employee. The case was dismissed, but does highlight the point about producing a fair dress code for both men and women and different religious backgrounds. As always, advice would be to use common sense.

Tweeting in the workplace: Do you have clear guidelines set?

Recent research by ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) found just over half of all workers (55%) now use social media sites at work, either on computers or mobile phones, costing British firms billions of pounds a year in lost productivity.

The problem is created when employees are spending time on personal profiles and pages when they should be working. What is of deeper concern however is when employees use social media platforms to speak negatively of their place of work or worse, their boss. Another study conducted showed almost 40% of British employees criticize their ‘workplace’ on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In addition, one in five admitted slandering their bosses on them.

There have been some high profile cases of employees being dismissed for bringing the company into disrepute because of comments either about work or colleagues on these social media platforms and The HR Dept is certainly dealing with more cases where employers have discovered tweets or messages which have caused issues within the workplace. The key of course, is communicating to all staff what your IT and Social Media policy is!

The HR Dept has written an IT/Social Media policy for employers containing guidelines on how to manage employees in this complicated area. If interested, contact your local HR Dept for more information.

www.hrdept.co.uk

Italian firm deems female employees ‘not the main bread winners anyway’

The uncertain economic climate poses many worries for companies these days, and it is likely that many redundancies need to be made in order to survive the ‘storm’. You would think then as an employer, you would consider performance of employees, absence, and time management as factors when making the difficult decision of who to give the bad news to.

However recently, a small, Italian engineering company did not consider such factors. The firm decided that the best decision was to let the majority of the female employees go, while keeping its’ male workforce. The women were made redundant on the grounds that they could then spend more time at home with their families, and ‘weren’t the main bread winners anyway’.

Jaw drop!

Sex discrimination still counts for the highest number of claims in employment tribunals in the UK and are usually the most costly in terms of time and solicitor fees. If this had happened in the UK, then we would advise: Bring your cheque book...

Let’s hope these attitudes stay in Italy!

Grow Your Own

NEET is a government acronym for 16-24 year olds who are currently "Not in Education, Employment, or Training". It was first used in the United Kingdom but its use has spread to other countries, including Japan, China, and South Korea. Which just goes to show that David Cameron is right; we are all in this together. The statistics are terrifying; almost 1 in 6 youngsters are now on benefits and unlikely to get off them unless something dramatic takes place. In response, the Coalition has launched a funding programme to try to encourage employers to take on apprentices. There are apprenticeships from a variety of industry sectors; in fact anything from accountancy to floristry and IT to veterinary nursing.


There are three levels of apprenticeship; Intermediate, Advanced and Higher with some leading to degree courses. The Company employs the apprentice and pays them. Currently the rate is a measly £2.50 per hour for all apprentices in their first year but thereafter those over 19 get the minimum wage. Fortunately many employers do pay more than the minimum, recognising everyone has to eat. Although most of the training is in the workplace, external training costs for 16 and 17 year olds are met 100% by the Government with a 50% contribution given for older employees.

The HR Dept recommends that you have an apprenticeship contract in place. This differs from the normal employment contract in that you commit to supporting them until they achieve their qualifications and it becomes difficult to terminate their employment before that date. On the positive side there is nothing as rewarding as growing and developing your own staff and by sharing their success you also get the return on your investment.

Blue skies... Broken Hearts...

Abolishing paid maternity leave and ignoring certain EU employment laws were more like a grey sky thinking initiative rather than probably just a free idea session by Steve Hilton an aide to PM David Cameron, which has been released to media. But it is worth a comment or two..

It doesn’t appear there were calls for maternity leave itself to be cancelled but the burden of payment.

An individual going off on maternity and of course additional paternity leave will have an impact on a small team when a member of staff leaves for up to 12 months, that probably is the most unspoken gripe from business owners.

It is widely commented in the media that maternity leave creates a barrier for women seeking employment and an anonymous survey of business owners would probably indicate that the maternity leave/flexible working/discrimination rules puts off employers, both male and female, off employing women of child bearing age.

But these are the rules and every business has to adapt to a changing business environment both internally and externally to survive and flourish whatever the economic times.

The reality is at some point in the near future paid maternity leave will increase again and Mr Hilton’s may again come to the surface.

We just hope that “blue sky thinking” doesn’t return to the day to day management vocabulary to be honest!

Brits hunger for holiday!

According to a recent survey conducted by Post Office Travel Insurance, heavy workloads and long working hours mean that the average Brit now needs six holidays every year to avoid becoming ill, anxious or aggressive. Long gone are the days when a week in Butlins did the trick; a quarter of today’s workers now feel so pressured at work that they are ‘desperate’ to get away every few weeks. However, any small business owner will be quick to tell you that this is simply not feasible, given business needs. That said, when it comes to overworked, stressed employees, something’s got to give and that will most likely be productivity or an increase in sickness absence. So it becomes clear that what’s needed is the ever elusive balance.

So how are other people motivating their employees? Well, Dynamo Kiev, the Ukraine’s top flight football team, deduct players’ salary each time the team lose. Not something we at The HR Dept would advise that’s for sure. Sometimes it’s the simple ways to inspire your staff that work the best. Taking time to celebrate the small things like birthdays, weddings or anniversaries or even a monthly celebration shows that management does care. The best reward you can give an employee is to give them what they want. Cool rewards and motivators can include an extra day to work remotely for the new mum, a nice lunch for an employee who rarely gets out; time to attend extra religious services for the devout and chocolate for the chocoholic. The most important thing to remember is that your staff appreciate being appreciated and sometimes a simple ‘thank you’ can go a long way.

To intern or not to intern?

With news coming out that BBC has used more than 6000 unpaid interns, it continues the debate as to whether internships are a loophole in the national minimum wage legislation or an effective training and development exercise for people taking the roles?

Answer to both: Yes!

Ideally, an internship is designed to offer graduates or those starting out in a chosen career a time limited work experience placement, which includes an element of training and can be used to gain experience and create opportunities, even a prospect of a paid role at the end of it. Over a third of internships are currently unpaid, with a loophole in national minimum wage legislation creating confusion over whether interns should be paid. Back in August The HR Dept backed the CIPD proposal for a £2.50 per hour guaranteed minimum training wage, in line with current minimum rates of pay for apprentices.

It is probably likely, as with apprenticeships, that it isn’t just the graduates who are seeking internships as a way to either seek gainful employment and or gain valuable experience in an industry but also older workers looking to boost their prospects during times when full time paid roles are harder to come by.

Perhaps there should now be a show called ‘The Intern’.

No right royal knees up!

A Lancashire-based floor company have been accused of a "bah humbug" management style after about 400 staff have been told to work on Royal Wedding day, even though the government has declared it a bank holiday. Similarly, a concrete group, based in Somerset, had stopped staff from taking holiday on the wedding day, citing as one reason the number of other bank holidays in April and May. http://tinyurl.com/5to5hpv

There is no statutory right to time off for bank and public holidays and any right to time off or extra pay for working on a bank holiday depends on the terms of an employee's contract of employment. Nonetheless, the government hoped employees would be given the day off to mark the wedding. Naturally in these cases it comes down to what the business wants to do and what an employees’ contract state. Unions has urged employers to offer more incentives on these days, such as double pay or time off in lieu to ensure an employee isn’t getting a too bad of a deal, but again in these times of uncertainty an employer has to make difficult decisions about their bottom line.

The additional bank holiday on Friday 29th April 2011 could present employers with challenges. There will undoubtedly be an increased number of holiday requests. Employers need to have clear policies in place so that they have sufficient staff to run the business and so those refused do not feel demotivated. This is not the only year this problem will occur. On Tuesday 5th June 2012, there will be a special bank holiday in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and so, again, there will be nine bank and public holidays in England and Wales in 2012 instead of the usual eight days.

Warning employees that any sickness absence on the bank holidays will be investigated thoroughly could also deter ‘sickies’ being pulled but we predict that calls to workplace for sudden stomach upsets, colds etc may increase on these newly created bank holidays.

Caught Off Side!

Thank you to Jennie Horchover, The HR Dept Ruislip and Harrow for this post.

The recent incident at Sky Sports, resulting in the sacking of Andy Gray and the resignation of Richard Keys has certainly put the issue of sexism in the spotlight. The huge variety of responses both within the media and in day to day conversations among friends and colleagues show how complex the issues of sexual harassment and discrimination can be. Where is the line between having a laugh and being offensive? Does it make a difference if the comment is made in a private conversation which happens to have been overheard? Should things such as the underlying culture of the company or the seniority of the alleged offenders matter?

Unfortunately, these issues are not confined to the world of tv punditry or the football sector, and all employers have a responsibility to take these issues seriously. Ignoring incidents of harassment and discrimination can easily lead to employment tribunal claims. Employers should also ensure that they deal with all involved legally, fairly and with dignity.
Work place teams follow unwritten rules of behaviour created collectively by the group, and the level of jokes, comments and banter, and thus the cultural definition of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, can vary enormously between different teams and different organisations. However, in every workplace there are key measures that employers should put in place to protect themselves and provide an acceptable working environment for their employees.

• Have an up to date set of policies and procedures dealing with issues of discrimination, bullying and harassment.
• Ensure that these documents are distributed and understood by all employees
• Train employees, especially managers, on how to recognise, prevent and deal with these issues, and the implications of not doing so.
• Deal seriously, fairly and speedily with any discriminatory issue raised, combining a confidential and supportive approach with a thorough investigation, and instigating disciplinary proceedings when appropriate.

If you want assistance with any of this, then please contact the HR Dept.