Newsletters
The Changing Face of Representation
It’s stating the obvious to say that over the last 30 years the workplace has changed dramatically through a combination of technology and much different employer and employee attitudes. One of the areas affected most has been what used to be personnel, now...
Have Your Say On Age Verification Proposals
Following a review of the Gambling Act 2005, the Gambling Commission is conducting a consultation on a series of proposed changes to the requirements it places on gambling businesses. One of the issues that the Gambling Commission is consulting on is changing...
Important Step Forward In Securing Academic Freedom
As our university and college members will be very aware, new legislation in the form of The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill has now been passed giving academics significant and much needed protection when it comes to academic freedom and freedom of...
The Problems With Affordability Checks
You’ll no doubt know that the Gambling Commission has imposed its largest ever fine on William Hill for allowing new customers to gamble large amounts of money in a very short period of time and for failures to guard against possible money laundering. The...
Campaigning For Fair Treatment At Work
Affinity has successfully concluded a longstanding campaign in the financial services industry to improve the working lives of people who work for employers regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Members mostly see the individual advice and...
Positive Results For A Four-Day Working Week
Between June and December 2022, 61 UK companies of varying sizes and in different industries took part in a four-day working week trial. The conditions of the trial were that each of the 2900 workers had to have a ‘meaningful’ reduction in their work time,...
Campaigning For Fairness In The Betting Industry
The press recently reported that Denise Coates, a director of Bet365, was paid one of the highest salaries ever awarded in the UK: in the year to March 2022 she earned £213.4 million! People will debate whether it’s right or wrong for any one person to earn...
An Update For Members Offered Team Leader/COM Positions At William Hill
Further to our newsletter on Friday, William Hill has yet to explain satisfactorily: 1. Why the Personal Management Licence (PML) clause has been included when there’s no current requirement for it to be in there for the vast majority of staff; and 2. Why the...
Does Your Employer Know You’re Disabled?
A recent case heard at the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has highlighted the importance of disabled employees informing their employers of their disabilities. The Equality Act 2010 says that people are disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment...
Important Information For Members Offered Team Leader/COM Positions At William Hill
If you have been offered a new position as a Team Leader, you have been asked to sign your contract for the role by 1st February 2023. The draft contract includes the following clause: "You agree that, if it is a requirement of your role or the position you...
Confirm It In Writing!
“My manager said I could try the new job and if I wasn’t happy with it I could go back to my old role. Now they’re saying that this assurance was never given and that my transfer is permanent.”. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that routinely we receive...
Silence From The Betting Shops
At the end of last year, we compiled the results of our recent surveys on violence or threats of violence against staff and unreasonable age verification failures, and presented these to Betfred, Entain, Flutter and William Hill for comment. The results from...
Betting Shop Violence Survey
One of the striking things about the betting industry is the apparent disregard for staff welfare shown week in, week out by senior management in the chains. Now, I’m not saying that most line managers think that way but there seems to me to be no doubt that...
Part-Year Workers: Is Your Holiday Pay Being Calculated Correctly?
Do you work on a zero-hours, term-time only or part yearly basis (in other word you have a permanent contract but only work part of the year)? If so, a recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court on the calculation of holiday pay could affect you. The Supreme Court...
Unfair Dismissal Win: Member Reinstated!
Affinity has won an important case for a member who was unjustifiably dismissed after he defended himself during an unpleasant physical attack in his shop. The member, a long standing and highly committed member of staff, was reinstated on appeal after we...
Age Verification Survey Results
Thank you to all the members who responded to our recent survey on age verification, we had a fantastic response and it has given us a really useful insight into the main problems that need to be addressed. Key Survey Findings Here’s a snapshot of our key...
Employers Must Respect The Law On Freedom Of Expression
In the last two years we've dealt with an increasing number of cases where complainants of one persuasion or another have sought to silence people with whom they disagree, by making complaints to their employers. These complainants, sometimes anonymous and...
Campaigning For Fair Treatment Of Betting Shop Staff
As Affinity’s membership continues to grow in the betting industry, it’s becoming quite clear that many of the betting companies are systematically failing staff. Recently, we took up a case where a company stopped a member of staff’s pay for no good reason...
Campaigning for Betting Shop Staff
On the face of it, certainly to outsiders, working for a betting shop is not much different to working anywhere else. But look more closely and the special circumstances of the betting industry are obvious. The betting shops chains meet customer demand that...
Letter To Mr. Harry Baines – LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PENSIONS TRUSTEE LIMITED v WALKER & OTHERS
Defending Free Speech in Universities: A Trade Union You Can Trust
One of the main functions of a university is to create an environment in which people can safely explore new ideas and theories, however unpopular or unconventional they may be, without fear of retribution. Such academic freedom of thought and expression is...
Social Media: The Dangers Increase
In a recent newsletter, I explained the important steps you can take to protect yourself when using social media; the key message was to be extremely cautious in what you do and say online. But what happens when you’ve done all of the sensible things to protect...
Recovering Money From Employers: How We Can Help
We routinely take cases to the Employment Tribunal on behalf of members, but what you might not know is that we also represent members in the County Court in money claims too. Disputes can arise over pay, benefits, severance payments and the County Court can be...
FCA Gets Powers To Stop Branch Closures?
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is considering introducing new rules which would give it the power to stop banks from closing branches. It is estimated that since the pandemic began, some 529 branches have been earmarked for closure. In June alone, Lloyds...
Care Home Workers And Compulsory Vaccinations
From 11th November 2021, anyone entering a care home in England will need to have received a full dose of an approved Covid vaccine unless: 1. They are themselves residents of the care home; 2. They are friends or relatives of residents; 3. They are providing...
Future Working Arrangements: Key Advice
Many employers are now making key decisions about when and where they ask people to work in future. For example, Spotify has decided that staff can work from whatever location they choose, KPMG has opted to ask staff to work 2 days per week in the office and...
Successful Conclusion To A Hard Fought Disability Case
Over three years ago, Affinity took on a case for a disabled member who needed her employer, a very large and powerful company, to make adjustments to help her cope with her disability whilst at work. This employer could have quite easily made those...
From Desktop To Laptop
In our recent Working from Home Survey, 63% of members said that they were working more than 7 hours a day and were more productive than they were before the pandemic. According to a recent study of 3 million employees in 21,500 companies published by Harvard...
Legal Action Over Inflation Change
In previous Newsletters we reported that tens of thousands of finance sector staff will see their pension benefits reduce because of the changes to way pension increases would be calculated in future. Trustees of the BT, Ford and Marks and Spencer pension...
Dangerous Conversations In The Workplace
In my last newsletter I talked about the dangers of social media when it comes to work. But what about conversations in the workplace? What can’t you say and do? Free Speech The playwright, writer and poet Oscar Wilde famously said: “I may not agree with you,...
Affinity Newsletters
Affinity’s Newsletters provide you with a regular source of important information that’s easily accessible and understandable.
To receive copies by email simply send your membership number and email address to 24hours@workaffinity.co.uk