August’s top HR questions on Brightmine feature FAQs on the impact of employees’ behaviour outside work.
One asks about misconduct outside work, and how far an employer can take this into account as a reason for dismissing an employee. Where the employee is charged with a criminal offence, this won’t necessarily mean it would be fair to dismiss them. The employer needs to focus on the impact on the employment relationship, rather than the offence itself.
Another question looks at whether it could be fair to dismiss an employee because of their membership of an extreme political party. As with misconduct outside of work, it is the impact of the employee’s conduct that is important, for example, on the relationship with colleagues or the employer’s reputation among customers. In this situation, employers need to be aware of the additional protection from dismissal because of political opinions that could apply.
The holiday entitlement of employees who are off sick on a bank holiday is the subject of the number one FAQ. Followed by questions on time off for fertility treatment, offers of suitable alternative employment and carer’s leave.
The top 10 HR questions in August 2025:
2. Do employees have a statutory right to time off for fertility treatment?
3. In a redundancy situation, can an employee refuse an offer of suitable alternative employment?
4. Who is eligible for statutory carer’s leave?
5. Can an employer dismiss an employee for misconduct that occurred outside the workplace?
6. What is the status of workers engaged on casual or zero hours contracts?
7. Can an employee be dismissed for being a member of an extreme political party?
8. What counts as “working time” for the purposes of the Working Time Regulations 1998?
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