Occupational Health focuses on the physical and mental wellbeing of an employee for the prevention and treatment of job-related injuries and illnesses.

Employees have the right to bring a work colleague or trade union representative to a disciplinary meeting, grievance meeting or formal appeal meeting.

As an employer, it is essential to know your responsibilities to a pregnant employee and to know what rights they have.

Defending a tribunal claim can be a lengthy and expensive process. There are some critical factors to consider when deciding whether or not to defend a tribunal claim:

• Legal costs;
• Prospect of success if deciding to defend a claim;
• The amount of time needed to prepare a defence;
• The pros and cons of settling a claim;
• Reputation risk, both internally and externally.

When an employee has a grievance, it’s best to try and resolve it at the earliest stage possible, and informally. However, not all grievances can be dealt with in this way, and sometimes a more formal process is required.