Banker's fate in question after TV catches him looking at e-mailed photos An Australian banker caught on live TV showing a high interest rate in nearly-naked photos of supermodel Miranda Kerr has launched a viral video that has already drawn hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube – and fresh debate about employer Internet policies.

Winter chaos versus employment law Heavy snowfall has disrupted commuters, shut schools and caused traffic chaos in many parts of the UK. So what are your rights if you couldn't get into work or if you are an employer and your staff couldn't make it in? We have asked Richard Nicolle, partner in Denton Wilde Sapte's employment practice looks at some of the issues.

Is your company data really safe? Survey findings highlight companies may be at risk of data theft despite 46 per cent of employees admitting they worry about information getting into the wrong hands

Business at risk of equal pay claims, warns top employment lawyer A leading law firm is urging the UK’s 4m small business owners to ensure their salary systems are fair following of a glut of equal pay claims in the public sector.

Businesses can benefit from online document portal Businesses can benefit from being able to search for low cost online legal documents from a range of providers with the launch of APOD - The Association of Publishers of Online Legal Documents.

Joint Ventures - What are the best options? Businesses across all industries often look to collaborate with others for mutual advantage. It could be the pooling of resources for R&D; an investment agreement in which one party contributes cash while the other provides technical expertise; or a more complex arrangement involving a separate company with its own funding, management and staff.

Joop! loses its bid to trademark an Exclamation mark The exclamation mark in JOOP! GmbH may be catchy and gimmicky, but it is not a trademark, the EU high court ruled Wednesday.

Is Oasis bust up a cautionary tale for family firms? The spectacular split of rock band Oasis is a cautionary tale in how businesses, even successful ones, operating as a partnership can break up leaving once close working relationships in tatters a leading North West law firm said today.

Top 10 tips about Intellectual Property (IP) All businesses have some form of IP, regardless of their field of activity, even if only in their name (trade mark) or their company literature (copyright) and with so much weight being placed on these things by investors If the core revenue of a business results from some form of technology and/or product design, you should take steps to ensure that you protect.

Can they really do that? Solicitor Chris Sherliker looks at the interesting case that Sainsbury’s has in the past week decided to take on major supplier Diageo with what might be considered to be a knock-off copy of its iconic Pimms’ brand and at the height of the thirsty Britsh summer.

Debt recovery at the click of a mouse This month sees the launch of a new and cost-effective way of recovering money owed. As consumers and businesses can sue for money owing at the click of a mouse, and without worrying about how to fill-in and word their own letters and court forms.

Cowardly Brits are a bunch of email flirters and deserters A staggering 26 per cent of Brits have used email to dump a lover from the relative safety of their office desks. While 32 per cent have used email to send a saucy message to a lover during work hours, suggesting email is just as important for flirting as it is for deserting!

Are you covered? David Greaves, Director of Deals & Small Businesses at RSA gives up some practical tips on ensuring that cutting back on insurance costs doesn’t mean you find yourself uninsured if you need to make a claim

Legal and Business issues for new Creative Businesses There has been substantial growth in the number of creative businesses in the UK in the last 10 years. Despite or even perhaps because of the current economic downturn people remain enthusiastic about starting their own business to exploit a creative expression. The process will present many challenges.

Capability Dismissals

Whilst capability is a potentially fair reason for dismissal, it is something of a “poor relative” to redundancy and conduct. The perceived length and complexity of the procedure involved inevitably leads employers to look at more straight forward options, but this can be risky, and capability procedures remain a vital part of good performance management.

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Do you know of any business, which:

1. Promotes a product similar to a product made by a particular manufacturer in such a manner as deliberately to mislead the consumer into believing that the product is made by that same manufacturer when it is not;
2. Makes an invitation to consumers to purchase products at a specified price and then refuses to take orders for it or deliver it within a reasonable time?

Employee Lateness

The rail regulator has announced that almost 400,000 passengers face daily delays in their journeys.  Rail commuters have been hit hard by various problems, including flooding last summer, regular train and tube strikes, and the inevitable “leaves on the line” in autumn.  Those who travel to work by road have their own problems.  But for small businesses in particular, staff lateness and absence can seriously affect productivity, efficiency and profitability.  Often employers notice that their least effective and motivated staff seem to be worst affected by commuting problems.
Here we examine the steps that small employers can take to manage the problem from an employment law perspective.

Managing staff sickness absence

The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) published their eighth national survey of absence management policy and practice in July.  According to the survey the average employee now takes 8.4 days off sick each year, costing employers £659 per employee per year.  It is inevitable that some employees will need to take some time off sick but long-term sickness and growing rates of short-term sickness can have a huge impact upon business.  But what can businesses do to do tackle absence?

The end of the office affair?

Office affairs are classic television comedy fodder. Think of any office-based 1970s sit-com and you will undoubtedly recall a male boss incessantly flirting with his pretty, young secretary.
Things have moved on a little since then, but, according to a recent poll, office romances are still rife. In fact, the survey showed that 59 per cent of the respondents freely admitted to having had romantic encounters in the workplace.
While this is often viewed as a bit of harmless fun and no business of bosses, the reality is much harsher. Many people have no idea that a fling could actually cost them their job. It’s only that bosses turn a blind eye to many affairs that the professional risks are kept to a minimum.

National minimum wage: Employers beware

Is the national minimum wage (NMW) rises year on year this increases the importance of SMEs conducting a balancing exercise to ensure payment of sufficiently high salaries to enable recruitment and retention of quality staff, whilst at the same time seeking to minimise business costs as far as possible. Nonetheless, all SMEs/OMBs must comply with their remuneration obligations to pay the NMW and this is particularly important in light of the government’s proposal to introduce a stricter enforcement regime.
The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 entitles nearly all UK employees to receive the NMW, which was intended to protect from rogue employers those groups of vulnerable employees who are likely to be exploited.