Some of the most frequently visited FAQs on XpertHR during June concern the calculation of statutory payments - redundancy pay and SMP - where the employee in question has had a recent change in hours. Questions on the length of time that an ex-employee’s personnel record should be kept, and a change of heart on the employer’s part after a job applicant has accepted a position also feature.

To coincide with the launch of its new online archive, The Times has published a list of 100 "cases that changed Britain", including some colourful employment decisions.

Two new model policies added recently to XpertHR [subscription required] provide timely guidance on employee wellbeing.

Many of the questions featured in our 10 most frequently visited FAQs during April relate to legislative changes that came into force on 6 April, including the amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in relation to harassment and rights during maternity leave, and the new Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Meanwhile, the statutory retirement procedures are still a source of confusion, with subscribers viewing FAQs on the number of requests that can be made in connection to a proposed retirement date, and whether or not an employer can seek to retire an employee at a later date where it has previously granted a request for him or her to continue working indefinitely beyond retirement age.

The US senate has approved legislation to prohibit employers from using genetic information to discriminate against individuals.

Many of the questions featured in our 10 most popular questions during February are new additions to the FAQ section of XpertHR – the majority published as the result of subscriber suggestions. So, if you have a question that you would like to see in the FAQ section of the site, don’t forget you can make use of the suggest a question button [subscription required]. Even if your suggestion isn’t suitable for publication as an FAQ, it might still provide useful ideas for guidance that could be published in other areas of the site, or prompt more detailed examination of a problematic subject.

The Health and Safety Executive has come out fighting this year in a bid to see off accusations that it is some sort of over-zealous killjoy body out to ban Christmas decorations and games of conkers.

First deputy chief executive Justin McCracken wrote to the London Evening Standard to take issue with mayor Ken Livingstone over what it judged to be some ill-judged comments about gas holders.

Did you spend the Christmas break fretting about what employment law cases are coming up in the next twelve months? Help is at hand, with my round up of ten significant decisions expected in 2008.

Once again, pregnancy and maternity featured in the month’s top 10 most frequently asked HR questions. Throughout December you asked questions on bonuses for employees on maternity leave, poorly performing pregnant probationers, fixed-term contracts due to terminate while the individual is on maternity leave and paid work during maternity leave. With regard to leavers, you wanted to know if it’s permissible to withhold the P45 of an employee who has been overpaid until the sum in question is repaid, and what action can be taken in relation to someone who fails to return company property.

With the office Christmas party season fast approaching, it’s time for HR to fulfil its traditional role of Scrooge with a reminder to staff about acceptable behaviour at work-related social events [subscription required].

Incoming president of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Ray Hurst, used his speech at an awards ceremony last week to complain about the “offensive, untrue and derogatory” terms with which the media commonly refer to his profession.

With bird flu back in the news (on the BBC website), don’t forget that XpertHR’s policies and documents service provides employers with a model bird flu pandemic contingency plan [subscription required].

With the start of the workplace party season just weeks away, check out XpertHR's top 10 tips for a claim-free event.

Employers who ban their workers from putting up Christmas decorations in the workplace for "health and safety" reasons are going over the top, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Now this may sound a little obvious, but scientists have apparently proved that if you want a long and happy life, you might want to avoid selecting rock star as your occupation of choice.

Two recent Court of Appeal decisions, reported on XpertHR this week [subscription required], demonstrate some of the difficulties facing employees who bring stress claims against their employers.

The number of deaths through accidents at work increased by more than 10% last year to 241, according to fatal injury statistics released today by the Health and Safety Executive and Health and Safety Commission.

A model policy on domestic violence [subscription required] has been added to XpertHR’s policies and documents service.

Bad news for health-conscious employers who want to encourage cycling as a viable alternative to the traditional car-based daily commute. It may cut your company’s carbon footprint, but apparently the risks of being mown down by less eco-conscious types are just too great.

The British Psychological Society always has something new to say about work-related stress at its annual conference. This year’s event, now under way in Glasgow is, of course, no exception.

Unsurprisingly, the XpertHR FAQs on the smoking ban in England have been the most frequently visited on the site this month – but what else have HR professionals been asking? Leaving aside smoking-ban related questions, we look at the top 10 most frequently asked HR questions during June.

For many employers today will be the last working day before the long-awaited smoking ban comes into force. From 6 am on Sunday 1 July, all public places in England – including workplaces – will become smoke free. When they turn up to work on Monday morning, employees used to smoking at work will no longer be able to do so, as the ‘smoking room’ becomes obsolete. In the last remaining days, employers need to ensure that all ashtrays are removed, and that the correct no-smoking signs are displayed. Fitting smoke alarms and providing assistance with giving up smoking should help send out the message that the ban is being taken seriously.

How many employees within your organisation are currently suffering from mental ill-health? ONS figures (PDF format, 1.19MB) show that in any one year, one in four British adults experience at least one mental disorder and one in six experiences this at any given time - so even if you are not aware of it, it is likely someone you work with is dealing with some form of mental ill-health.

As such, the cost of mental ill-health in the workplace to employers is significant. Mental ill-health is the second largest cause of time lost due to sickness absence (PDF format, 420KB) in the UK with an estimated cost of £9 billion every year. But can anything be done to reduce these costs and can organisations manage the process to ensure less sickness absence?

The smoking ban in England comes into force one month from today.

XpertHR has recently published practical guidance on how to comply with the smoke-free legislation [subscription required] to help employers prepare for the ban.

With just over a month to go before the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, including workplaces, comes into force in England, it's no surprise that smoking-related issues currently feature highly in the suggestions for new FAQs that the XpertHR team receives.

We've therefore just added the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions, including:

Can an employer permit customers or clients to smoke on its premises?

Can employers permit their employees to smoke on the pavement outside the workplace?

Can an employer continue to provide a smoking room for employees, so long as no smoke enters the surrounding rooms and corridors?

Must employers ensure that homeworkers don't smoke at home?

Are employers obliged to specify outside smoking areas on their premises?

Where an employer provides company cars, is it obliged to make the cars no-smoking areas?

Where employees receive a car allowance instead of a company car, must their employer ensure that they don't smoke in any car purchased with the allowance?

What requirements are there for no-smoking signs in buildings?

What requirements are there for no-smoking signs in vehicles?

Where an employer has had no smoking premises for some time, is it still obliged to comply with the smoke-free legislation signage requirements?