Cas's Blog - The latest from a long line of catastrophizers!

I have the worry gene.  Worry is embedded in my very DNA. So, when we completed the Summer Law on Tour on 16 July, and it was a great success, I wasn’t surprised but I was relieved.  Bearing in mind that the release of Covid restrictions had been delayed until 19 July there were potential obstacles to face in delivering face-to-face events.  We presented in person in London, Leeds, Manchester, and Cardiff.  Social distancing was maintained, all safety measures were observed, and we still had a brilliant time!

Our London Law on Tour hybrid event on 13 July was possibly the most challenging as we had delegates attending in person, and about forty delegates attending via a virtual classroom.  Being probably the most ill-equipped person on the planet to deal with any technical problems, I was so grateful to have a team from Goho dealing with technical issues, and Melanie Whittle, of KLC, managing some of the online questions.  I shouldn’t have worried though because as soon as we kicked off everything went without a hitch (even though there were some last minute bombshells that will remain between me and my gatepost!).

Our last tour event was the webinar on 16 July.  Everything went swimmingly for the first five minutes and then ‘disaster’ struck as we lost the internet connection, something that never happens in our offices. Of course, coming from a long line of catastrophizers, I was convinced that somehow our broadband connection had been severed for good and KLC would be forever more without contact with the outside world.  Happily, the connection was restored literally within a couple of minutes and the rest of the day went without a hitch. 

Having finished the tour I was just starting to worry about our next public training events, and the next tour, and what topics we will cover, when out of the blue, the Government published its response to the consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace, and the House of Commons Committee launched its Menopause in the workplace inquiry.

With regard to the sexual harassment response, employers will have to take positive proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring; liability for third party harassment will be restored; and there will be a statutory code of practice on sexual harassment to complement the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work.

Concerning the inquiry on menopause in the workplace, MPs on the cross-party Women and Equalities Committee are seeking to understand whether current legislation goes far enough to support people experiencing menopause at work.  So, watch this space for news on whether the Equality Act might be amended in some way.

So, within two days I have the genesis of the next Law on Tour. It won’t stop me worrying though, because everyone knows that if you don’t fear the absolutely worst then something terrible is bound to happen…