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Portrait ofEdward Arnold

Edward Arnold

Senior Associate

Contact
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP
The Blade
2nd Floor - The Blade Abbey Square
Reading
RG1 3BE
United Kingdom
Languages English

Edward is a Senior Associate in the Employment group. He has developed a practice advising UK and international employer clients across a number of sectors and industries including primarily technology, energy, media and financial services. Edward regularly presents training and seminars on various employment law issues and developments and has been recognised in Chambers and Partners as "very technically able, collaborative, easy to work with and gets the job done".

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Education

  • 2004 – Legal Practice Course, Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
  • 2003 – BA Law, University of Nottingham
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20/11/2023
Post Brexit reforms – changes to holiday entitlement and pay
As part of the wider process of reviewing the current state of UK laws in the wake of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, the government has published draft regulations that make some...
07/11/2023
Beyond D&I: when your ESG priorities collide with an HR crisis
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are fast becoming embedded in strategy and decision making processes at board level, and are particularly relevant to life sciences and healthcare (LSHC) businesses, where such considerations align with the sector’s commitment to ethical, sustainable and responsible business practices. As part of this, the “Social” pillar of ESG, which reflects an organisation’s commitment to its communities, including its workforce, is growing in importance. Traditionally, the focus here has been on an organisation’s approach to diversity and inclusion (D&I), but increasingly  companies, and their stakeholders, are looking  more broadly at how organisations treat their people and whether they are fostering a positive workplace culture, encouraging employee engagement and openness. Investors and regulators see this as a key focus area, which directly impacts the underlying safety and sustainability of a business, both in terms of core strategy, but also in light of the ever-increasing risk of poor workplace culture resulting in scandals which are played out in the public eye and can have significant repercussions for organisations and their wider industries. These “HR crises” may arise out of a range of situations, including high profile one-off allegations of inappropriate behaviour by senior staff, but also from allegations of wider organisational failings fostering cultures of, for example, bullying and harassment or mistreatment of whistleblowers. The role of a strong and purposeful culture and appropriate governance is obviously key in seeking to avoid such issues arising in the first place. However, how organisations deal with these situations when they do arise also brings their commitment to their ESG values into sharp focus. In this article, we look at some key considerations for employers operating in the LSHC sector to help manage risk and maintain ESG credibility and integrity when handling HR crises.   Foster a “speak up, listen up” culture Fostering a healthy “speak up, listen up” culture is essential. Employees must feel able to raise concerns (regardless of the seniority of those “accused”) without fear of reprisal. Putting in place whistleblowing frameworks, including policies, escalation procedures and reporting channels, are key to developing and maintaining a healthy speak up culture. But underlying these processes must be a culture of trust that reassures employees that their concerns will be taken seriously and acted upon. Building this trust requires a clear and committed buy-in from senior management, fostering a sense of common organisational purpose; it is everyone’s job to report suspected wrongdoing and you will be listened to. Without this, policies and procedures alone will have limited impact.A successful speak up culture will itself contribute to a healthy workplace culture and may prevent issues arising in the first place, but it will also reassure stakeholders, including investors, regulators and customers, that when issues do arise, these will be identified and addressed quickly. Swift detection of an issue that could undermine ESG commitments will help an employer get ahead of a situation, deal with it appropriately and manage related risks. Consider your response – is it in keeping with your organisational values? When HR crises arise, organisations will inevitably consider the immediate risks (legal, regulatory and reputational). The “tra­di­tion­al” corporate response is understandably almost entirely driven by closing down that risk as quickly as possible. However, it is important to consider how an organisation’s actions in addressing these situations may impact on its wider ESG commitments and culture and on longer term risks. Negotiated settlements with individuals at fault and the use of NDAs have for a long time been seen as a key part of a quick and efficient response to HR crises, but where these result in a failure to deal with the root cause of the issue, they may be hugely counter-pro­duct­ive. Culpable decision makers become seen as “un­touch­able”, or worse rewarded for their wrongdoing through lucrative exit packages. In the blink of an eye, this can undo a lot of good work undertaken to build a healthy culture of trust, respect & authenticity and can undermine confidence with key external stakeholders such as customers, investors and regulators. Even where the situation playing out in the public eye is avoided, there will almost always be a degree of internal visibility and the impact on organisational culture of perceived “cover ups” or “white­wash­ing” is likely to be extremely negative. Consider failings holistically and honestly  Alongside the risks to an organisation’s “authenticity of purpose” that arise from how HR crises are handled, the “quick fix” approach may in fact exacerbate or simply delay the risks arising from the underlying  HR issues. Failing to consider and address the underlying concerns of course increases the risk of similar issues arising in future. A failure to address any of those concerns may also restrict the legal defence that an employer has against future claims, being unable to show that it took “all reasonable steps” to prevent employees discriminating against other employees. Where an employer is aware of cultural issues and does not address these, such a defence is unlikely to be available. It is often better to acknowledge that mistakes have been made and lessons learned, as opposed to denying there was a problem in the first place. It is important to consider any failings holistically and honestly - aside from any immediate shortfalls; are there wider governance or supervisory issues to manage or do the findings indicate more deep rooted cultural failings that need to be addressed? Is what you are investigating the tip of the iceberg? Applying that lens can lead to uncomfortable but necessary conversations, in some cases with senior stakeholders. The organisational culture, set at senior management level, will be key to enabling this. Importantly, those people tasked with investigating and addressing such concerns, including HR, will need a genuine mandate to uphold that culture and to act accordingly both during and following these HR crisis situations.   Summary In today’s social, industrial and regulatory environments, it is not enough simply to pay lip service to ESG in the good times and ignore it when things get tough. Business will be judged by whether they adhere to their ESG commitments during and in the wake of an HR crisis, and those that do not risk falling behind their peers and be less likely to weather the storm longer term.
06/10/2023
A series of small things… Supreme Court rules in Chief Constable of the...
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the holiday pay case of Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (and another) v Agnew and others [2023] UKSC 33 dismissing...
13/06/2023
Healthy Horizons Webinar Series
The Life Sciences & Healthcare sector is under increased scrutiny from an ESG-perspective, with pressure faced in every aspect of the value chain. Healthy Horizons, our practical guide to doing responsible...
28/07/2022
No pro-rating of holiday for “part-year workers”
The Supreme Court has handed down an important decision on the calculation of holiday for workers who work for varying hours during only certain weeks of the year but have a contract throughout that year...
05/11/2020
Employment webinar: Preparing for IR35 (again) and other upcoming employment...
In the first section of our webinar we will highlight some of the key employment law reforms and other developments which are on the horizon, focussing particularly on the Employment Bill. As a result...
14/01/2020
April 2020 changes to off-payroll working rules – government launches review
The government has launched a review into implementation of the April 2020 changes to the off-payroll working rules. In November the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid said that a Conservative government...
01/10/2019
Preparing for IR35 liability changes (Webinar)
In April 2020, the government will implement in the private sector the reforms to the off payroll working rules (IR35). Broadly, the changes mean that where individuals provide their services through...
26/09/2019
IR35 reforms: preparing for April 2020
Background Introduced in 2000, the IR35 rules were intended to ensure that individuals working through an “in­ter­me­di­ary” (usually, but not necessarily, a personal service company), who due to the...
29/11/2017
Potentially unlimited carry-over of holiday pay for workers?
In a decision that will have significant and potentially very costly implications for employers operating in the gig economy, the European Court of Justice has today ruled that a self-employed contractor...
10/08/2017
Voluntary overtime pay may need to be included in the calculation of holiday...
In Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council v Willetts, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has provided some further clarity on the extent to which payments associated with voluntary overtime should...
14/06/2017
Employment tribunal fees challenge – Supreme Court’s judgment awaited
R (UNISON) v Lord Chancellor Since 29 July 2013, fees have been payable by a claimant or appellant bringing a claim in the employment tribunal or an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”)...