Course: Human Resource Management Module: HRM in a Legal Context Type: Case Study This assignment requires you to respond to the case study below: Write a report to Alec, the Managing Director, setting out your advice on all the issues raised. Set out the employment law position on the basis of the information known and explain any further questions you have. Include case law and statute in your report. This assignment is designed to assess the following learning outcomes: On successful completion of this module, learners will be able to: – [ ] Locate and navigate relevant legal material, including statutory provision, case reports, case law and codes of practice. – [ ] Interpret current and proposed legislative provision. Analyse these materials with speed and confidence. To formulate policies and procedures, which are compliant with current legislation. – [ ] Supply accurate advice to colleagues on the rights and obligations of employ employees arising from the contract of employment – [ ] Advocate and secure compliance with appropriate legal obligations; e.g. those arising from the provisions of discrimination legislation (Equality Act 2010). – [ ] Identify and promote learning and development processes and practices which meet or exceed legal and mandatory requirements. Case Study: The Wonderful Biscuit Company You are the newly appointed HR Manager for The Wonderful Biscuit Company which has a small factory in Dorchester and employs 105 people. In November 2021* Tess, a production line worker, walks out of the factory one morning. She subsequently sends the Managing Director an email, copying you in. She complains that others in the factory are not wearing masks and there is no social distancing. Her wife is expecting a baby and Tess is very fearful of catching Covid and passing it on to her. She is aware from gossip on the factory floor that some employees are not vaccinated. One employee, Felix, is saying that the vaccine is planting micro-chips and is advising others not to have it. Tess told Felix that he is ‘mad’. Felix has retaliated by saying that she is ‘weird’ as she is having a baby with a woman and that is ‘just not normal’. Tess states in her email that she is not coming back to work until it is ‘sorted’. She wants Felix to be sacked for his comments. She also wants a list of those unvaccinated so that she can ensure she does not work near them on the production line. She wants everyone working in the factory to wear masks. The Managing Director, Alec, states that both individuals are ‘difficult’; they are always arguing with each other and they are causing a bad atmosphere in the factory. He notes that both have been working there less than two years and he asks you whether he can just terminate their employment without risking a claim. He also tells you to inform payroll to stop paying Tess’s wages with immediate effect. He suggests that in future you ask all applicants coming for an interview whether they have been vaccinated or not, as he does not want to employ ‘anti-vaxxers’. There are also some issues with the office staff. Izzy wants to work from home as she did during lockdown. Her only way into work is on public transport and she is anxious because many passengers are not wearing masks. She is concerned about the safety of her daughter who is clinically vulnerable. Alec points out that, although she has been working for the company for three years, she is on a zero hours contract. The only documentation relating to her job is a brief offer letter that states that she will be offered work when the office needs extra support, due to annual leave and sickness. This arrangement suited her at the time as it enabled her to care for her daughter. However, during lockdown she started working much more regular hours, from 8 to 4 every day, as she could work from home and her partner was also at home to help with her daughter. She wants to continue this arrangement, but Alec says he would prefer to stick to the original contract which was that he would only call on her when needed. Another employee in the office, Marian, has been off work with stress and anxiety. She is back at work today, but she has just confided in you that the stress was caused by Alec, the Managing Director, as he is demanding and bullying. She would like to apply to reduce her days to 3 days a week. She suggested this to Alec when she was off sick and he said that he ‘will think about it’. She feels it would be particularly unfair to refuse her request as her stress has been caused by work and she thinks the company have a duty to put it right. She says that if Alec does not agree she will leave and claim compensation. In the meantime, Alec has sent you an email asking whether the company can make Marian redundant as the office managed quite well when she was off on sick leave, partly owing to the extra work Izzy was able to do. He thinks that Marion’s stress is self-imposed. She spends too long doing tasks; she is a perfectionist but actually not very effective.
