Settlement Agreement – What Does Reaffirmation Mean?

April 17th 2025 | employment
When there is a significant gap between the signing of a settlement agreement and the employee’s termination date, a reaffirmation may be required. A reaffirmation clause requires the employee to confirm that they are not aware of any potential claims or legal issues against the employer at a later date, read more...

Are Pre-termination Negotiations Admissible in Tribunal?

December 18th 2024 | employment
In  Gallagher v McKinnon Auto and Tyres , the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) upheld the tribunal’s decision that pre-termination negotiations between the Claimant and the Respondent were inadmissible in his unfair dismissal claim. Under s111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, pre-termination discussions, known as ‘protected conversations’, are inadmissible in ordinary unfair read more...

National Living Wage To Rise By 6.7% In April 2025

November 4th 2024 | employment
The Government has announced the rates of the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage which will come into force from April 2025 and is set to be worth an extra £1,400 per year for an eligible full-time worker. The move comes in as part of the government's focus on read more...

Can Someone Make A Claim For Discrimination On My Behalf?

September 26th 2024 | dispute resolution
The short answer is yes (in certain circumstances). Someone may make a claim for discrimination on behalf of a minor or a protected party, acting as their ‘litigation friend’. A minor is anyone under the age of 18 and a protected party is someone who “lacks capacity to conduct the read more...

What Makes Special Damages 'Special'?

August 16th 2024 | personal injury
What Are Special Damages? Special damages in personal injury claims refer to the compensation that is awarded for specific financial losses incurred as a direct result of the accident. These types of damages are an integral part of a personal injury claim and can help individuals recover various losses they read more...

Can You Cause Death By Careless Cycling?

July 19th 2024 | personal injury
The introduction of new laws specifically covering death or serious injury by dangerous cycling could see offenders face up to 14 years in prison. The move will be welcomed by many road users after MPs voted in favour of the new legislation. What is the Current Law? Currently cyclists are read more...

"A Warzone With Grease": A Dilapidations Case Law Update

June 20th 2024 | landlord and tenant
An interesting judgment in a recent dilapidations case of Peachside Limited v Lee and Keung was handed down on 23 rd April 2024. For a reminder on what dilapidations are, check our dilapidations seminar here . The judgment was particularly interesting as there was significant variance in the expert valuation read more...

The Use Of Surveillance In Personal Injury Claims

May 22nd 2024 | personal injury
It is important to make you aware of a key tactic used by Defendants during personal injury claims. The use of surveillance by insurers to record the lives of injured Claimants is becoming increasingly common. Of course, such surveillance is important to prevent fraud but in some cases surveillance evidence read more...

Do You Need Legal Advice On A Settlement Agreement?

May 9th 2024 | employment
You’ve just been given a settlement agreement by your employer but what do you do next? Even if it seems like they are giving you a fantastic deal and you want to sign on the dotted line straight away, you should take a breathe and consider your next steps and, read more...

What Claims Can Be Settled By A Settlement Agreement?

April 11th 2024 | employment
Settlement agreements are typically used in an employment context when an employee’s employment is being terminated, but also to resolve an ongoing dispute. You can read about the basics of settlement agreements here . It is important to note that settlement agreements cannot offer a blanket settlement of any and read more...

Spring Budget Update: Minor Change to Inheritance Tax Payment Rules

April 4th 2024 | wills and probate
Hidden away in the recent 2024 Spring Budget update is a small but interesting change to Inheritance Tax (“IHT”) payment rules, specifically concerning the process of obtaining a 'grant on credit' from HMRC. Effective from April 1, 2024, personal representatives of estates will no longer be required to seek commercial read more...

Can You Withdraw A Resignation?

March 26th 2024 | employment
Resignations seem fairly simple, and most of the time they are. I have previously been asked by employees to draft their letters of resignation in relatively straightforward cases. I tend to tell these people that it’s really not worth incurring solicitors fees to prepare such a simple letter which simply read more...

What Is A Settlement Agreement?

March 7th 2024 | employment
A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract made between an employer and their employee. They are usually offered to an employee when their employment is being terminated but they can also be used if there is ongoing dispute to be resolved, even if the employee is not leaving their read more...

Constructive Dismissal: The Timing of Resignation

January 16th 2024 | employment
Constructive dismissal occurs where an employee has resigned, but treating themselves as having been dismissed. This may sound like an oxymoron but in effect it occurs where the employer has committed a breach of the employee's contract. Sometimes this is a breach of the written terms e.g. failure to pay read more...

The Employment Law Changes Working Parents Need to Know

January 10th 2024 | employment
2023 brought about some significant changes to HR law, many of which impact working parents. This article sets out the main changes set to come into force over the next couple of years. Changes to flexible working requests Last year the Government announced changes to the flexible working regime which read more...

Can I Change My Spouse’s Will After Their Death?

November 17th 2023 | estate planning
In short the answer is no, you cannot rewrite someone’s Will after they have died. Whilst you cannot change a Will following someone’s death, you might be able to vary the tax treatment of a gift and subsequently your entitlement from a Will after someone has died. Read on to read more...

Trick or Termination: When Halloween Becomes a HR Nightmare

October 31st 2023 | employment
HR are generally not known for their sense of humour and I can practically hear all readers of this blog boo and hiss as I, the Fun Police, come to ruin your days.  However from an employment perspective, Halloween has traditionally been an opportunity for employees to get themselves into read more...

Employing Farm Workers: FAQs, Answered

October 24th 2023 | employment
Farms are unique businesses which present their own rewards and challenges.  One of those challenges are finding good employees, and then managing and retaining those employees.  Many farms are family businesses where the family may not consider that things like employment contracts are all that important, but given the number read more...

Is Anxiety A Disability?

October 17th 2023 | employment
According to the Office for national statistics, around 6% of people suffer with generalised anxiety disorder, and with over 8 million people expressing an anxiety disorder at any given time. For employers, dealing with anxiety in the workplace can be very difficult. Most employers are aware that if an employee read more...

Can You Stop Your Staff from Discussing Salaries?

October 6th 2023 | employment
I will start this article with a confession – I am obsessed with TikTok.  Yes it’s probably melting my brain and stealing my data, but it’s also highly entertaining and often informative.  One of the more informative themes that pops up on my FYP is HR advice.  I don’t search read more...

Can Employers Ban Tattoos?

September 29th 2023 | employment
Tattoos can be a grey area and polarise opinions. However, are employers allowed to judge an individual based on their tattoos, or would this be deemed discrimination? Are there any laws governing this? Legally, there are currently no employment laws that govern tattoos in the workplace. This means that an read more...

Why Has My Lasting Power of Attorney Application Been Rejected?

July 31st 2023 | powers of attorney
New data issued by the Freedom of Information (FOI) has revealed that almost 130,000 lasting powers of attorney (LPAs) applications have been rejected in the last 5 years due to mistakes, with over 29,000 of these coming in the last year alone. We have previously covered LPAs in this blog read more...

Wills: When Should You Get a Capacity Assessment?

June 19th 2023 | wills and probate
It is important to know that for a will to be valid, the testator, i.e., the person making it must have sufficient mental capacity. “Testamentary capacity” is the legal term used when describing an individual’s legal and mental ability to make or alter a valid will. In the absence of read more...

The 4-Day Working Week: An Employment Lawyer’s View

June 16th 2023 | employment
The 4 Day Week Global trial involving over 3,000 employees across 61 organisations took place last year, with the results having been reported in February 2023.   In late 2022, Labour proposed a 4-day working week bill which was debated in parliament in October. Does a four-day week work? The report read more...

UPDATE: Changes To Employment Law Following Brexit

May 30th 2023 | employment
Brexit may now seem like a distant memory, but the ramifications are still being dealt with in the legal framework of the UK. Earlier this month the government announced that it was intending to make a number of important changes to employment law in England and Wales. Working Time Regulations read more...

7 Steps to Take After Being Made Redundant

April 5th 2023 | employment
Being told your role is redundant can be a stressful and overwhelming experience.  Your first thought is probably “what on earth do I do now?”.   Here are some of the first steps you should take: Speak to a solicitor – there are many steps you can take yourself but it read more...

Can You Make Redundancies Without Consulting?

March 28th 2023 | employment
A large part of the redundancy process is the need to provide employees with certain information and consult with them about prospective redundancies.  The need to consult is key, and in cases of large-scale redundancies (more than 20 redundancies being made within a period of 90 days or less) the read more...

Ellis v Bacon: A Study in Martial Status Discrimination

February 28th 2023 | employment
In January 2023, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled that, in order to succeed in a claim for marital discrimination, it was necessary to show that the reason for the unfavourable treatment was the fact that someone was married rather than just in a close relationship. Background In the case read more...

Signs Your Tenant May Be Facing Financial Hardship

January 23rd 2023 | commercial property
It is important for Landlords to spot the warning signs when a commercial tenant is facing financial difficulties to help them minimise their losses. Tenants are often reluctant to let their landlord know if there are issues, but there are some common signs which might indicate a problem. Paying rent read more...

Redundancy: Alternatives to Redundancy

January 11th 2023 | employment
When considering making an employee redundant the employer has to consider a number of factors. The first is whether a redundancy has genuinely occurred (i.e. the work of a particular kind has ceased or diminished), who should be selected to be at risk of redundancy, and then as part of read more...

Redundancy: What Is A Pool And How Do You Select One?

January 4th 2023 | employment
We have discussed in previous blogs when and how a redundancy occurs. When making an employee redundant, you must select the employee by fairly applying objective selection criteria to a pool of employees. The first step there is identifying the pool i.e. the group of employees from which you will read more...

LAW BREAKING IN OUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS FILMS?? - Read on to find out which of our most beloved Christmas characters have been taking the law into their own hands!

December 22nd 2022 | social
ELF After Buddy is wrongly assumed to be a department store Christmas elf, he ends up pretending to not only work there, but even sleeping in the shop. Here he has committed the relatively serious crimes of trespassing, fraud and potentially burglary. During his fake employment, he peeps over the read more...

Help! I Have Been Paid Late (And Other Pay Issues)

October 11th 2022 | employment
Issues regarding pay can cause both employees and employers substantial problems. For the employee, not receiving their correct pay, paying too much tax, or being paid late can very quickly lead to financial difficulties. According to a recent survey, close to 40% of UK households live pay cheque to pay read more...

"Quiet Quitting": The TikTok Trend Impacting your Business

September 5th 2022 | employment
What is quiet quitting? The term “quiet quitting” has become something of a buzzword of late.  At the time of writing a quick Google search (other search engines are available) of the term yields “about 203,000,000 results”.  The trend seems to have originated on social media platform TikTok.  The idea read more...

Long Covid: A Disability or Just Disabling?

August 15th 2022 | employment
The snowball effect of COVID has left the some members of the population sniffing and coughing for much longer than the 10 days previously enforced as the isolation period, as they continue to show symptoms of the viral infection. This condition has known to become ‘long COVID’. According to the read more...

Covid, Self-Isolation, and Sick Pay: What's The Deal Now?

March 16th 2022 | employment
As of 24 February 2022, the government guidance on Covid which can be found here states that you will not be legally required to self-isolate if you test positive for Covid19. The government guidance is to stay home "if you can" and avoid contact with other people. This has caused read more...

Saying Goodbye to the SSP Rebate Scheme

February 23rd 2022 | employment
One of the Government's schemes for business assistance during Coronavirus was the statutory sick pay (SSP) rebate scheme.  Under the scheme, employers who paid SSP to employees who were off sick or in self-isolation due to Covid coudl reclaim those costs from the Government.  Employers will no longer be able read more...

Updated Fit Note Rules and Dealing With "Fakers"

January 12th 2022 | employment
From 26 January 2022, employees who are on a period of sickness (provided that period starts after 26th January) can self-certify sickness for up to 28 days. Previously, for a period of sickness extending to more than 7 days, including weekends, the employee needed to attend a GP for a read more...

When Christmas Party Rumours Go Too Far

December 23rd 2021 | employment
What’s the best thing about Christmas?  No, it’s not the turkey, family time, long break from work, or even the presents.  Everyone knows it’s the office Christmas Party and the steaming vat of hot gossip which follows (subject, of course to Boris allowing us to go ahead).  From who wore read more...

Disciplinaries: Reason For Dismissal

November 4th 2021 | employment
A recent case of London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham v Keable serves a useful reminder to employers to focus on the actual reason for dismissal when carrying out their investigations and disciplinary hearings. In that case the employee, Mr Keable, had made controversial remarks about Zionism (a Jewish National read more...

National Cranky Co-Worker Day: How To Deal With Difficult Employees

October 27th 2021 | employment
Today (27 October) is, according to LinkedIn, “National Cranky Co-Worker Day” (yes, there really is a day for anything and everything).  Take to social media and you’ll see tongue-in-cheek posts tagging the office whinger, as well as numerous articles on how to deal with such co-workers.   All seems to read more...

Employee, Director, Shareholder: What’s The Difference?

October 11th 2021 | dispute resolution
In many businesses, especially small owner-managed or family business, the roles of employees, directors and shareholders are often unclear, as are the rights and responsibilities of each. Directors Directors are responsible for running the business on a day to day basis and most decisions about general management (including spending money, read more...

Burnout and Boreout: What they are and how to prevent them

August 13th 2021 | employment
Burnout or Boreout? You might have heard the phrase “burnout”, a not-so-novel concept, coined almost 50 years ago in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger.  Burnout describes a state of emotional, physical and psychological exhaustion caused by long-term, unrelenting stress. It is most commonly used to describe a read more...

Can I Pay Someone Less if They're Working From Home?

August 10th 2021 | employment
Homeworking has become something of a buzzword since the Government issued its ‘work from home’ mandate in April 2020.  It is estimated that almost half of workers in the UK worked from home in 2020 owing to Coronavirus.  Now that we’re seeing the easing of restrictions and the green light read more...

Top 10 Most Common HR Mistakes

July 21st 2021 | employment
As an employment lawyer, companies often only seek advice from me once things have already gone wrong. I always tell these clients that prevention is better than cure, and good HR advice can save you substantial time, effort, and costs in the long run.  Before I give a shameless plug read more...

Sexual Orientation Discrimination: Do you have a Claim?

June 22nd 2021 | employment
If you have been treated unfairly because of your sexual orientation, you may be able to file a discrimination claim in the civil courts or the employment tribunal. What is sexual orientation discrimination? Sexual orientation is defined by the law as an individual’s sexual attraction towards persons of the same read more...

GP Surgeries and TUPE: What happens when a GP retires?

May 27th 2021 | employment
General Practitioner surgeries are unique businesses, being a private business offering a public function.  The assumption tends to be that GPs are employed by the NHS, but that is usually not the case.  GPs are, most often, private businesses (either companies, partnership or sole traders) who have NHS funding. This read more...

Covid-Secure Hugging: How to Safely Hug In the Workplace

May 13th 2021 | employment
Short answer: you can't.  Long answer: On Monday 10 May PM Boris Johnson announced the next step in the UK’s Covid roadmap.  The eased restrictions included dining inside restaurants, holidays abroad and the green light to hug loved ones.  The latter sounds like the end of social distancing and might read more...

Stress At Work Claims

May 12th 2021 | employment
We all suffer with stress at some point in our lives, and particularly in our working lives.  From tight deadlines to understaffing, there are common workplace issues which cause periods of stress.  Most of the time these are temporary, but for some people stress can be debilitating to the point read more...

Uber and the Supreme Court: The Last Word on Worker Status?

March 22nd 2021 | employment
Last month the Supreme Court, the highest court in England and Wales, gave their ruling on the Uber case.  The lower courts had already given the verdict that Uber drivers were ‘workers’ rather than self-employed, and the Supreme Court has now confirmed this position.  But, what does this mean and read more...

Budget Update: Furlough Extended

March 3rd 2021 | employment
In another budget announcement today (don’t ask us how many there have been, we can’t keep track either), Chancellor Rishi Sunak formally extended the furlough scheme until the end of September 2021. Currently, employees are receiving 80% of their normal pay, with employers funding national insurance and pension contributions.  From read more...

Furlough Updates

February 5th 2021 | employment
It seems that not a month goes by without a change to the furlough scheme, and January was no different.  On 27 January, the Government published a new Treasury Direction which, in summary, confirms that the furlough scheme is formally extended until 30 April 2021.   The Direction also confirms that read more...

Constructive Dismissal: Whether and When to Raise a Grievance.

January 27th 2021 | employment
Constructive dismissal is a tricky beast for employees, employers, and employment lawyers alike.  When dealing with a constructive dismissal situation you often have to make logical, tactical decisions such as timing your resignation and whether to engage in a grievance process.  Recent case law has highlighted the difficulties when deciding read more...

Settlement Agreements: What is a Good Settlement?

January 7th 2021 | employment
A settlement agreement, as explained in previous blogs, is a method of ending the employment relationship and settling claims.  They are usually used by employers to avoid having to follow long, arduous and difficult legal processes.  However, they have advantages for employees too. The main advantage is usually that your read more...

Covid Guidance Update: Notice and Furlough

November 13th 2020 | employment
How do you like to spend your Friday evenings?  If it's reviewing HMRC guidance then you’re in luck because the Furlough Guidance has just been updated. The latest update is an important one.  It confirms that for furlough claims periods (a claim period being a minimum of 7 days) starting read more...

Extended Furlough: Rehiring Redundant Employees

November 6th 2020 | employment
Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert, has in his latest newsletter encouraged employees who have recently been made redundant to contact their employers and seek to be re-hired and furloughed, following confirmation from the Government that employers are entitled to do this on the extended scheme.  However, whilst that would probably read more...

Extended Furlough: What’s The Deal?

November 2nd 2020 | employment
On Saturday 31st October 2020, the Government made Halloween the scariest yet…with the announcement of a second lockdown.  To compense for “Lockdown 2” the Government have taken the decision to extend the furlough scheme.  What does this mean? Well, the complete guidance hasn’t yet been released, but here’s what we read more...

Job Support Scheme: Further Details

October 27th 2020 | employment
A policy paper has been published by HMRC, which provides further details of the Job Support Scheme which comes into force when the current furlough scheme ends this month.  The Job Support Scheme was originally intended to benefit employees who were working at least one-third of their normal hours (though read more...

Covid-19 - The Clinically Vulnerable At Work

October 19th 2020 | employment
The Government recently update its advice for clinically vulnerable individuals - those previously covered by the ‘shielding regime’.  With regards to work, the Government’s advice is that clinically vulnerable individuals should work from home where possible. However, at all risk levels under the tier system, employees may attend their workplace read more...

Job Support Scheme: Extension for Covid-affected Businesses

October 12th 2020 | employment
On 9th October 2020, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the Government would be extending the Job Support Scheme previously announced as part of the Winter Economy Plan .  The previous announcement stated that employees must work one-third of their normal working hours in order to be eligible for the new read more...

Furlough 2.0? The Winter Economy Plan 2020

September 28th 2020 | employment
On Thursday 24th September, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Winter Economy Plan, amid concerns over what would happen to the estimated 5.3 million people still on furlough.  The new Job Support Scheme is not a direct replacement for, or continuation of, furlough.  It is aimed to get workers read more...

Mental Health First Aid: What is it and do you need it?

September 3rd 2020 | employment
“Mental health first aid training” sounds all very modern, doesn’t it?  I imagine many readers of this blog will be tempted to roll their eyes at the suggestion that anyone could make a living providing such training. You might also assume that it’s a knee jerk (and probably short-lived) reaction read more...

Why Use A Solicitor For HR Services?

August 27th 2020 | employment
Many people view HR Consultants as the cheaper and more obvious option to provide “day-to-day” HR services. These services include the provision of contracts and staff handbooks as well as advising on disciplinary and capability issues within your business. However, it is important to consider whether they are always the read more...

I’ve Been Offered A Settlement Agreement: What Do I Do Now?

August 20th 2020 | employment
A settlement agreement (previously known as a compromise agreement) is an agreement between employee and employer which records the terms on which claims are settled. However settlement agreements are not only used when there is a dispute or employment tribunal claim.  In fact, settlement agreements are most commonly used to read more...

Redundancy and Furlough: Notice Pay

August 11th 2020 | employment
When an employee is made redundant, they are entitled to receive: A Statutory Redundancy Payment (a payment based on their age, length of service, and salary); A payment in lieu of accrued but untaken holiday; and Notice. Notice is usually either worked by the employee, paid in lieu (subject to read more...

My Employee Is Too Expensive – Can I Make Them Redundant?

August 4th 2020 | employment
This article deals with a question I am asked frequently: does a redundancy situation arise where an employee is simply too expensive? Most would say that is the very definition of a redundancy but in reality, the answer is often “no, not really”.  A redundancy situation occurs when an employee read more...

How To Make Redundancies Without Going Through a Redundancy Process

July 20th 2020 | employment
The suggestion that you could make redundancies without going through the process probably sounds too good to be true, and there certainly are caveats.  However, in theory it is entirely possible.  Many people probably do not realise that when making redundancies there is an option for employers to offer a read more...

Redundancy and Furlough: Two Words of Warning For Employers

July 16th 2020 | employment
As the furlough scheme begins to change, and employers’ contributions to the costs increase from next month , many businesses may now be turning their attention to the longer term viability of their business.  This may include whether they can afford the increased contributions, or must now consider measures to read more...

Furlough Scheme: Staff Retention Bonus

July 8th 2020 | employment
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has today annouced  his "mini budget", including his Plan for Jobs measures.  A far cry from yesterday's concerns that  employers who cannot retain furloughed staff will have to repay the furlough monies , the Chancellor announced a staff retention bonus. Full details of the read more...

Covid-19: Testing, Tracing and SPP

May 28th 2020 | employment
The Government has launched as at today's date (28 May 2020) the new Test and Trace system.  This means that anyone with symptoms of Coronavirus must now (in addition to self-isolating as before), go online, register their symptoms and order a Covid-19 test. If you test positive for Coronavirus, you read more...

Covid-19: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Update

May 12th 2020 | employment
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has today announced that the  Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme  or 'furough scheme' will be extended until October 2020. It has been confirmed that no changes will be made until the end of July 2020 with employees continuing to recieve 80% of their salary read more...

Coronavirus: Employers’ FAQs

March 17th 2020 | employment
All information in the below article is correct as at the date of publish (17 March 2020).  However due to the ongoing nature of the Coronavirus outbreak, the information below may be liable to change at any time.   Further to our previous blog post about COVID-19 - commonly known as read more...

Employment Tribunals: Annual Increase on Compensation Limits

March 6th 2020 | employment
The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2020 has been placed before Parliament.  This order sets out the rates which apply in the Employment Tribunals when calculating compensation payments.  The limit for a 'weeks pay' also applies to statutory redundancy payments, as well as basic awards in the Tribunal. The read more...

Coronavirus: Guidance For Employers

March 4th 2020 | employment
If you have seen the news at all in the past month, you will need absolutely no explanation as to what coronavirus is!  However, on the slight chance that you might have been living under a rock, COVID-19 – widely referred to as ‘coronavirus’ is, according to the World Health read more...

“You Stink!”: Handling Awkward Conversations With Your Staff

February 19th 2020 | employment
It is possibly one of the most awkward situations that you may be asked to handle as a Manager or HR Professional: confronting an employee about personal appearance or hygiene.  However, it is an important issue to deal with swiftly and sensitively, as left unchecked, it could affect the employee’s read more...

What Are The Benefits Of Using A Solicitor For HR Advice?

February 11th 2020 | employment
By now, you may well have heard of our Employment Retainer Package which provides your business with flexible, cost effective HR support. But you may wonder why you would use a solicitor rather than a HR Consultancy Business.  We consider that the benefits are endless, and to name just a read more...

You Can Be Discriminated Against For Being Vegan

January 31st 2020 | employment
Somewhat surprisingly, given that a Tribunal recently ruled that it was not possible to be discriminated against for being vegetarian , a different Tribunal has ruled that ethical veganism is a philosophical belief which is capable of being protected under the Equality Act 2010. The case concerns a vegan, Jordi read more...

Transgenderism: Employment Law Update

January 6th 2020 | employment
A new case which has been heard in the Employment Tribunal has potentially far-reaching implications both for the Equality Act and for freedom of speech. Under the Equality Act, a person is protected from discrimination as a result of their religious or philosophical belief.  What constitutes a philosophical belief is read more...

Employee Monitoring: Secret CCTV Cameras

December 11th 2019 | employment
Employee monitoring is a controversial and complex issue covering not only employment law, but data protection, and human rights issues. There are a number of types of monitoring including monitoring of email content and traffic, internet or telephone use, or CCTV.  This article focuses on use of CCTV in and read more...

Settlement Agreements: What Should You Be Contributing Towards Fees?

November 14th 2019 | employment
When an employer offers an employee a settlement agreement, the employee must take legal advice on the “terms and effect” of the proposed agreement in accordance with Section 203 Employment Rights Act. It is standard practice that an employer will contribute to the costs of the employee taking that legal read more...

Harassment Is Not Always Discrimination!

October 29th 2019 | employment
Harassment is defined in Section 26 of the Equality Act. It has a particular definition unique to the Equality Act which is as follows:- a person (A) harasses another (B) if- a) A engaged in unwanted conduct related to the relevant protected characteristics, and b) the conduct has the purpose read more...

Guidance on Menopause

October 18th 2019 | employment
18th October 2019 marks World Menopause Day - a subject which is surprisingly important for employers! A recent  government study  on menopause and it's effect on working women suggests that "significant numbers of working women experience problems at work as a result of individual symptoms" and that some aspects of work read more...

Can You Be Discriminated Against For Being Vegetarian?

October 3rd 2019 | employment
In short- no. A recent case heard in the Employment Tribunal of Conisbee v Crossley Farms Limited decided this very issue. Under the Equality Act 2010, workers are protected from being discriminated against on the grounds of their religion or beliefs. In this case, the claimant claimed that they had read more...

Social Media in the Workplace - What Is Your Problem?

August 12th 2019 | employment
As an employer, it is often difficult to tell where the boundaries lie regarding the implications of your employee’s actions on social media. A recent case heard at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that, in Forbes v LHR Airport Limited , the posting of an offensive image on Facebook read more...

Can Employees Take Holiday Whilst on Sick Leave?

July 30th 2019 | employment
The law relating to holiday rights and sick leave was in a state of uncertainty for some years. There were many unanswered questions, including whether a worker (see our previous blog post for an explanation of who falls within the ‘worker’ category’) on long-term sick leave can take annual paid read more...

Can Employees Secretly Record Meetings?

July 25th 2019 | employment
In most cases, it is misconduct for an employee to make a covert recording at work because it breaches the implied term of trust and confidence, but a recent ruling at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) showed that it depends upon the purpose of, and circumstances surrounding, the recording. Compensation read more...

Too Hot To Work?

July 2nd 2019 | employment
If you look at your weather app, chances are you may be greeted by the little sun icon you've been longing to see over the last few wet, windy weeks.  With the "Sarahan Bubble" raising temperatures in Europe to scorching, the UK is set to see some warmer weather. As read more...

Why Use a Solicitor for HR Services?

June 7th 2019 | employment
Many people view HR Consultants as the cheaper and more obvious option to provide “day-to-day” HR services. These services include the provision of contracts and staff handbooks as well as advising on disciplinary and capability issues within your business. However, it is important to consider whether they are always the read more...

Employment Contracts - Unclear Wording Can Be A Costly Error

May 28th 2019 | employment
Many businesses give little consideration to their contracts of employment. Many may not have one at all (there is no legal requirement to have a contract) and others may simply hand out the same standard document with the necessary details amended. However, a failure to give proper consideration as to read more...

Social Media in the Workplace – The Problem with LinkedIn

May 10th 2019 | employment
If you ask any business-owner they will probably tell you that they actively encourage their staff to be on LinkedIn, promoting themselves and the business.  LinkedIn is undeniably a great way for professionals to connect and network, however it can also pose significant risks for the employer who encourages its read more...

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Flexible Working

April 24th 2019 | employment
Flexible working gives the opportunity for employees to have flexibility on how long, where and when they work. The main way in which this flexibility can be achieved is through a statutory flexible working request, part of a scheme that was set out in the Employment Rights Act 1998. However, read more...

Stress Awareness Month - Our Top 10 Tips

April 18th 2019 | employment
April 2019 is Stress Awareness Mont h and at Allan Janes we are encouraging our employer-clients to consider stress in their workplace.  According to the Samaritans, ‘work’ is cited as the number one cause of stress in the UK.  A survey carried out by Mind, a mental health awareness charity, read more...

The Gig Economy - Employees, Workers or Self-Employed?

April 17th 2019 | employment
A host of recent cases, including cases brought against high-profile companies including Uber, Pimlico Plumbers, Addison Lee and Deliveroo have placed the employment status of people working in the ‘gig economy’ under scrutiny, but what is the difference between an employee, a worker and a self-employed contractor, and why does read more...

Changes to National Minimum Wage – 2019 Budget

April 2nd 2019 | employment
Employers are reminded that National Minimum Wage and other allowances increase this month.  The new rates are as follows: For workers aged 25 and over from £7.83 to £8.21 For workers aged 21-24 from £7.38 to £7.70 For workers aged 18- 20 from £5.90 to £6.15 For workers aged 16- read more...

"It’s Just Banter!”: A New Defence to Discrimination Claims?

March 29th 2019 | employment
When dealing with complaints or disciplinary issues, many employers will have heard the phrase ‘it’s just banter!’ raised in defence of the accused. However, could this possibly be a defence in the Employment Tribunal? Well, possibly. In the case of Evans V Xactly Co Ltd heard last year, potentially discriminatory read more...

Worker Status: The Barrage of New Cases Continues...

March 4th 2019 | employment
Following the success of workers in a number of high-profile cases including Uber and Pimlico Plumbers, it was expected that further cases regarding worker status would soon be hitting the Tribunals. This, coupled with the removal of fees for Claimant’s has led to a slew of new cases being issued. read more...

Employers Must Keep a Record of Working Time

February 12th 2019 | employment
A recent opinion expressed by Advocate General Pitruzzella – a member of the European Court of Justice – suggests that employers must maintain records of the time their staff spend at work. In the case of Federacion de Servicios de Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) v Deutsche Bank SAE, Advocate General Pitruzzella read more...

The Equality Act 2010 – How Much Is a Hurt Feeling Worth?

November 11th 2018 | employment
Probably more than you might think! The Equality Act 2010 expressly provides that compensation for discrimination may include (or be made up entirely of) compensation for injured feelings. An award for injury to feelings is separate from an award of compensation for financial loss. A claimant can therefore recover for read more...

Is a Reference from Jabba the Hutt Valid?

October 15th 2018 | employment
In an interesting case regarding obtaining references in the recruitment process, employers are given fair warning regarding their obligation to ensure that references are true and factual. Case facts In Francis-McGann v West Atlantic UK Limited, the Claimant had lied on his application, stating in his previous experience that he read more...

Flexible Working: The Benefits for Employers

October 10th 2018 | employment
Flexible working gives the opportunity for employees to have flexibility on how long, where and when they work. The main way in which this flexibility can be achieved is through a statutory flexible working request, part of a scheme that was set out in the Employment Rights Act 1998. However, read more...

Consideration For Restrictive Covenants

September 24th 2018 | employment
Many people might be aware of the basic contractual principles, including the rule that you must provide consideration for a contract to be enforceable, however when contracting to restrict a person’s right to work (such as including restrictive covenants in a contract of employment), the situation becomes more complex. What read more...

Can you Dismiss Without Prior Warnings?

September 18th 2018 | employment
Most employers will be aware of the general requirement to give warnings prior to dismissing employees for misconduct. Most employers will also be aware of their right to dismiss an employee without notice if they have committed an act of ‘gross misconduct’, even if that employee has no prior warnings. read more...

Can you Give a Bad Reference?

September 4th 2018 | employment
Some of the most common questions received from employers concern giving references for ex-employees. Many employers do not understand their obligations in this regard, however it is vitally important that employers comprehend their duties and avoid common pitfalls. For example, many employers may not know that a claim for damages read more...
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