industry news

Articles and insights from the Sentient team

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Council Worker Wins Record £4.6m at Tribunal
Claimant awarded ‘unprecedented’ payment after being sacked while on sick leave. A council employee...
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Employment Tribunal & ACAS Webinar
Our latest webinar, hosted by our Human Resources and Employment Law experts, will cover the topic of...
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Rate Increases Update 2024
The Government have announced the following rate changes that are due to take effect in April 2024; some...
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Driving at Work: Fleet Risk Management
Driving for work is completed by most businesses, to varying degrees. It can be defined as operating...
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Menopause Guidance
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has issued new guidance for employers on Menopause in...
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Managing Workplace Relationships
Workplace Relationships Acceptable conduct in the workplace is an essential element in what makes a...
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Our 2024 Webinar Programme
Our industry leading webinars are an opportunity for you to access expert insights from our HR and Health...
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Amendment to National Minimum Wage Regulations
Under the 2015 National Minimum Wage Regulations, an exemption applied to live in domestics, which decreed...
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Asbestos – Are You Managing The Risk?
It is now over 20 years (and two changes in regulations) since law was introduced, requiring duty holders...
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iosh managing safely course
IOSH Managing Safely®, the market-leading health and safety course for line managers, is tried, tested...
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Sexual Harassment: A Recent Case Example
An employer has had to pay compensation in excess of £50,000 to a former employee who was sexually harassed...
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Paternity Leave Changes
The Government has published draft legislation in the form of the Paternity Leave (Amendment) Regulations...
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Family Friendly Employment Law Changes On The Horizon
As we have advised previously, a number of changes to family friendly legislation were announced during...
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Legislation Impacting Holiday Pay & Other Miscellaneous Provisions
The Government, last week, published draft legislation to implement changes to holiday rights under the...
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Home Working Update
Approximately, 4 years ago, back in 2019, the country was periodically put in ‘lockdown’ as a consequence...
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HSE Ramp Up Inspections on Metal Working
The HSE has just announced that they are undertaking Metalworking inspections, starting in October 2023. From...
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Fire Door Safety Week
We’re recognising Fire Door Safety Week – 25th – 29th September 2023 – as an...
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The Evolving Virus & Its Impact
Since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic in 2019, the virus has continued to mutate and there is growing...
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Civil Penalties Increasing for Employing Illegal Employees
All UK employers are required to prevent illegal working by conducting right to work checks to ensure...
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HSE - Work-related Fatality Figures Published
The reason our team of Health & Safety Consultants repeat the importance of carrying out risk assessments...
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The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023
As we told you in a previous Update [2022/31] The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill was introduced...
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Inside Sentient: Meet Fiona McQuillan
Fiona McQuillan, Sentient Director Fiona has been helping her team adapt to the acquisition and change...
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The Importance of Staff Wellbeing
For those of us lucky enough to have a job – love it or loath it – that job plays a crucial...
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More Employment Law Changes on the Horizon
New rights derived from three Government backed cross party bills were given Royal Assent towards the...
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Employment Law Changes on the Horizon
The Government have made some recent announcements with regard to changes to Employment Law in the future. We...
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Dealing With Mental Health Within The Workplace
Sadly, mental health problems are on the increase in society and this inevitably impacts on the workplace....
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Health Assessments for Night Workers
Information Update: 10/2023 • Issue Date: 09/05/2023 By way of general reminder, employers are required...
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We’ve had a makeover!
new year, new sentient style Our visual branding and brand values have been given a fresh new look...
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SENTIENT WEBINAR 
PROBATIONARY PERIODS  14TH MARCH 2023
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Government Consultation on How to Calculate Holiday Entitlement
(For Part Year Workers (e.g. Term Time Workers) orWorkers with Irregular Hours) The Government have...
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RECENT HEALTH & SAFETY PROSECUTION
The Incident:A 59-year-old HGV driver was waiting for his trailer to be loaded when he was hit by a forklift...
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IOSH MANAGING SAFELY® TRAINING COURSE
Brush up on your Health and Safety Skills   We are hosting another IOSH Managing Safely® Training...
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TEACHERS’ STRIKE ACTION
You cannot help but have noticed that a large number of Teachers in England and Wales have voted for...
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The End of EU Law in the UK?
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (‘the Bill’), is part of the Government’s commitment...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Time to consider some New Year’s resolutions! The following case, which has been published by the...
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FLEXIBLE WORKING CHANGES
The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill was introduced on 15th June 2022 by Labour MP Yasmin...
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Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill
An investigation in 2017 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found that 54,000 mothers each year...
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AUTUMN BUDGET
Jeremy Hunt – the Chancellor of the Exchequer – has unveiled the contents of his Autumn Statement...
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ARE YOU WORLD CUP READY?
All English and Welsh fans and those from other nations, involved or not, will be eagerly awaiting the...
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SENTIENT WEBINAR
CONDUCTING WORKPLACE INVESTIGATIONS 17TH NOVEMBER 2022­ ­
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World Mental Health Day
Today, 10th October is World Mental Health Day and the theme this year is ‘Make mental health and wellbeing...
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Lock-Out/Tag-Out (LO/TO)
Last month, a company in Shropshire was fined £115,000 after a worker’s hand was cut off in a machine....
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Changes to Right to Work Checks for Employers
All employers should be aware there is a requirement to ensure they check that any applicant for work...
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HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
We join our country in mourning the passing of The Queen.May Her Majesty Rest in Peace. The Funeral...
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Fire Door Safety
With Fire Door Safety Week approaching – 19th to 25th September 2022 – this is an opportune...
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Are Your First Aiders Prepared For Body Fluids?
Body fluids are an inevitable outcome of injuries or becoming ill at work and it’s something that’s not...
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CLIENT HEALTH AND SAFETY REMINDER
Selection, Control and Coordination of Contractors by Clients The case below should be a horrific...
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THE NEONATAL CARE (LEAVE AND PAY) BILL
An announcement in the Budget in March 2020 confirmed the Government’s commitment (at the time) to support...
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EXTREME RED, LEVEL 4 HEAT WEATHER WARNINGS ISSUED
Current Extreme Weather Warning Period:Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th July 2022   The Meteorological...
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COVID UPSURGE
With the news that Covid-19 cases have surged again, we thought it might be useful to remind you what...
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NEW GUIDANCE ON FIT NOTES
As previously advised in our Information Update 2022/15 (15th June 2022) the law changed on 1st July...
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EMPLOYING CONTRACTORS -
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HEALTH & SAFETY?
It is a commonly held misconception that when you employ a contractor to carry out work on your site,...
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Changes to Statement of Fitness for Work ("Fit Notes")
The Social Security (Medical Evidence) and Statutory Sick Pay (Medical Evidence) (Amendment) (No. 2)...
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Pregnant Workers and Risk Assessment
The HSE have updated their guidance in relation to Employers now having a legal duty to carry out an...
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SEXUAL HARASSMENT
(Be Careful What You Say …)
An Employment Tribunal has ruled that calling a man ‘bald’ at work was a violation of his dignity and...
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IOSH MANAGING SAFELY® TRAINING COURSE
Brush up on your Health and Safety Skills
We are hosting another IOSH Managing Safely® Training Course, in advance of the summer holidays. This...
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SENTIENT ARE FUNDRAISING FOR
SUE RYDER MANORLANDS HOSPICE
Following the success of last year’s fundraising event, where Fiona and Paul bravely leaped from...
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FACE MASKS
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE)
Are you protecting employees effectively from harmful dusts?If one of your control measures is the use...
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COVID-19
APRIL UPDATE
Managing COVID-19 in the workplace now that most restrictions have been lifted – what do you need...
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BUSINESS IMMIGRATION
On 15th March, the Home Office published its Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules providing...
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NATIONAL LIVING/MINIMUM WAGE
AND STATUTORY RATE INCREASES
Below is a summary of the changes to the National Living Wage/National Minimum Wage and the statutory...
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MAINTAINING AGING
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Performing non-routine maintenance operations when the work involves aging plant and equipment can be...
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LEGISLATION UPDATE:
PPE REGULATIONS
The PPE Regulations were introduced in 1992 and set out the legal requirements for employers with regard...
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The “Living with Covid” Plan:
How Does This Affect Employers?
The Prime Minister has announced an end to all remaining Covid restrictions in England. The Government...
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Company Sick Pay Scheme –
Withdrawing the Benefit for the Unvaccinated
You may have noticed that a number of large organisations (Ikea/Morrisons/Next) have recently hit the...
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FURTHER CHANGES TO SELF-ISOLATION REQUIREMENTS
England Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced today that the self-isolation period for people...
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Welcome to 2022 and our first Information Update of the year, let us start by wishing you a Happy New...
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CHANGES IN SELF ISOLATION GUIDANCE AND RETURN OF THE SSP REBATE SCHEME
Self-Isolation GuidanceThe latest guidance from the government has said that people infected with Covid...
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