Forthcoming Meetings
The next Heathrow Personnel Group meeting will be announced shortly.
Should you have any questions then please contact Kate Osborne on 01444 473344 or send an email to the address below.
Date: Thursday 17th July, 2008
Venue: SITA, 1 London Gate, 252-254 Blyth Road, Hayes, Middlesex, UB3 1BW
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Topic: Famliy Friendly Law
Speakers: Harry Sherrard, Sherrards
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Past Meetings
Date: Wednesday 5th March, 2008
Venue: American Airlines, 23-59 Staines Road , Hounslow, Middlesex , TW3 3HE
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Topic: Grievances and Gripes
Speakers: Dan Soanes , Sherrards
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Past Meetings
Date: Tuesday 23rd October, 2007
Venue: Abbey Business Centre, Abbey House, Heathrow, 450 Bath Road , Longford , UB7 0EB
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Topic: Working Time Regulations in the Aviation Industry
Speakers: Harry Sherrard, Sherrards
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Past Meetings
Date: Wednesday 27 th June, 2007
Venue: BMED, Cirrus House, Bedfont Road , London Heathrow , TW19 7NL
Time: 12 noon – 2pm
Topic: Smoking Regulations and Anger Management
Speakers: Criona Sproson , Sherrards; Anni Ridsdill Smith, Airate
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Past Meetings
Tuesday 26 th September, 2006
Abbey House, Heathrow
at 9.30am
Topics
Occupational Health
Speaker: John Mason
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Consolidated Shift Pay judgment clears BA of Working Time Regulations breach
The Court of Appeal has recently passed judgment in the case of British Airways plc –v- Noble, setting an important precedent on the calculation and payment of shift allowances.
The facts
British Airways (“BA”) pays a Consolidated Shift Pay allowance in equal instalments over a 52 week year. The allowance is only applicable to weeks worked (i.e. not during the 4 weeks allowed for annual leave). To simplify matters, BA spreads the shift allowance payable for the 48 working weeks across 52 weeks, so that each week's pay is effectively equal. This is part of a collective agreement.
Some BA employees claimed that spreading the shift allowance across the year was in breach of the Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR”) as it ‘rolled up' holiday pay; a practice which is generally prohibited under the WTR. The employees won first in the Employment Tribunal and again against BA's appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.
Court of Appeal judgment
BA were eventually successful in the Court of Appeal, principally because the Court ruled that the claim had nothing to do with ‘rolled up' holiday pay at all. It decided that the collective agreement achieved precisely what the WTR - and the European Working Time Directive on which it is based – was designed to achieve; that workers should not be discouraged from taking their holiday by being paid less for the holiday period.
Lord Justice Mummery helpfully summarised: “The real cause of complaint by the Claimants is the agreed method for calculating the Consolidated Rate [i.e. the collective agreement] rather than BA's use of that method in the application of the Regulations.”
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Past Meetings
Tuesday 13 th June, 2006
American Airlines, 23 – 59 Staines Road , Hounslow, Middlesex , TW3 3HE
at 9.30am
Topics
Drugs and Alcohol misuse in the workplace
Speaker: Mat Kutub, Grendonstar (www.grendonstar.co.uk)
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Past Meetings
Wednesday, March 8th 2006
Swissport Cargo Services, Bedfont Road, Heathrow Airport, TW19 7NL
at 9.30am
Topics
Trade Union Law – refresher and update
Harry Sherrard, Principal, Sherrards Employment Law Solicitors
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First Meeting of Heathrow Personnel Group
The Heathrow Personnel Group will meet for the first time on 14 th July 2005 and welcomes two Speakers.
Steve Jacobs, Head of Flexible Benefits at Gissings Advisory Services Ltd, will talk about the range of Flexible Benefits available to employers. With perks for employees ranging from discounted CDs to childcare vouchers, they offer a useful way to motivate staff.
On a lighter note, Sue Aslett, Head of Personnel at British Mediterranean, will give an informal and entertaining talk on her HR experiences in the former Soviet Republics and the Middle East that will make British Employment Law look positively straightforward.
The meeting will be held at Abbey House, 450 Bath Road , at 4pm on 14 th July.
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Flexible Benefits Schemes set to increase
New technology is set to revolutionise employee benefits packages in the UK , enabling employers to offer Flexible Benefits schemes adaptable to individual employees' needs.
Not surprisingly, employees are more motivated by benefits packages addressing their own lifestyle. For example, an employee may be better off substituting childcare vouchers for some of their salary rather than paying a nursery directly from their paypacket.
The CIPD's reward management survey shows that just over one in ten employers now use this type of reward. W ith falling costs and software packages designed for easy use by benefit scheme administrators and employees alike, this looks likely to increase.
• Steve Jacobs, Head of Flexible Benefits at Gissings Advisory Services Ltd, will be speaking at the forthcoming meeting of the Heathrow Personnel Group. For more information, click here: info@heathrowpersonnel.com
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Age Discrimination an issue for Airlines
With age discrimination legislation set to come into force later in 2006, airlines in particular are waiting with interest to see the detail of the new laws.
The legislation is being developed in response to a directive from Europe but precise details of what will be covered are not yet clear.
Airlines in particular are concerned about potential changes to retirement age legislation. New laws may also hit the pilot seniority system, jobs for recent graduates and age-related pension contributions.
Legal experts believe employers should begin considering possible implications now and be aware of new responsibilities regarding documentation. Harry Sherrard, Principal of Employment Law Solicitors Sherrards, said “To justify direct discrimination on the grounds of age after 2006, employers will have to produce supporting evidence: assertions will not be enough.”
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