I Ain't Saying She A Gold Digger: A Guide to Predatory Marriage

April 25th 2024 | contested probate
It's not often I quote Kanye (not after what he did to Taylor Swift) but as predatory marriage cases become increasingly prevalent, it seems appropriate.  It isn’t that predatory marriage hasn’t existed for a long time – it has – but with the increasing number of contentious probate claims, it read more...

Should I Get More Inheritance Because I Cared For My Parents?

April 17th 2024 | contested probate
It is not uncommon that when I am instructed in relation to a contested probate claim, particularly in cases where the parties are siblings, that the question of care might arise.  Often this is a highly emotive topic where one sibling feels they did more than their ‘fair share’ of 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...

1975 Act Claims: Cohabitees and Short Marriages

March 19th 2024 | contested probate
In our series of article about 1975 Act claims, we have already considered the position of both adult and minor children of the deceased.  The other most common claimants in 1975 Act claims are cohabitees and spouses.  The position of a long term spouse is generally clear: they are entitled read more...

1975 Act Claims: Adult Children

March 13th 2024 | contested probate
In our previous blog , we discussed the position of minor children in bringing claims against the estate of a deceased person. Claims by children generally mean claims against the estate of the deceased’s child or a ‘child of the family’ e.g. stepchildren. This blog discusses the position of adult read more...

1975 Act Claims: Claims on Behalf of Minor Children

March 5th 2024 | contested probate
As set out in a previous blog , 1975 Act claims are claims for reasonable provision from a deceased person's estate. It is not uncommon that those bringing such a claim would be a child – or more accurately an adult litigation friend representing the interests of a minor child read more...

1975 Act Claim: It's All In The Timing

February 13th 2024 | contested probate
In our previous blog we discussed the case of Archibald v. Stuart and another . The case, in case you haven't been following along with this thrilling series of blogs, concerns Neil and Julie. Julie, in particular has had a very difficult time of things. Firstly, her in-laws have passed read more...

1975 Act Claims: Can You Claim Against Your In-Laws Estates?

February 6th 2024 | contested probate
Claims under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependents) Act 1975 – or as they are often called Inheritance Act claims, or 1975 claims – are claims that a deceased person has failed to make reasonable provision for the applicant in their will or that reasonable provision has not been 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...

Farming Families and Estoppel Claims

November 16th 2023 | dispute resolution
What is estoppel? Proprietary estoppel sounds very complex and ‘legal’.  In summary, proprietary estoppel is a concept which provides rights in land to a person (let’s call then “A”) which A was led to believe by another (“B”) that they had such rights, and it would be unjust to deprive read more...

Cancel Culture: When is a Will Revoked?

November 7th 2023 | contested probate
What is revoking a will? Cancelling or revoking a will is a common practice.  Most people will make several wills in their lifetime to reflect their changing wishes as their circumstances and assets change or perhaps to reflect updates to the relevant tax regime.  It is almost always prudent 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...

How To Make Litigation Cheaper

September 26th 2023 | dispute resolution
Litigation is expensive. There was no getting away from that. As lawyers, it is our job to conduct litigation in accordance with the overriding objective under the Civil Procedure Rules. This includes an obligation to conduct litigation reasonably and at a cost which is proportionate to the issues in dispute read more...

What To Do If You Have Been Left Out of a Parent’s Will

June 21st 2023 | contested probate
In the UK, we have the intestacy rules which say what will happen to your estate if you die without  leaving a will.   There is a set order of priority in which people will inherit your estate.  The intestacy rules are complex but in brief: If you die leaving a 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...

Can We Fix It? Rectifying Mistakes In Wills

April 27th 2023 | contested probate
It is a fact of life that mistakes happen.  However some mistakes are bigger than others and mistakes made by professionals drafting wills can have disastrous consequences.  Sometimes, the only solution is a claim in negligence but on occasion mistakes in wills can be fixed. Mistakes discovered during your lifetime read more...

Negligence In Will Writing

April 24th 2023 | dispute resolution
A will is probably one of the most important documents you will prepare in your lifetime.  Your will allows you to dictate what happens to your estate after you die and will often also dictate your funeral wishes. It is therefore important that a will reflects your wishes and is read more...

When Is A Will Invalid?

April 20th 2023 | contested probate
In England and Wales the general rule is that you are free to decide how you would like your estate to be distributed after your death, and you can direct that distribution by making a will.  However, when making a will (and after) there are some formalities which need to 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...

My Partner has Died, Can I Stay in the House?

March 31st 2023 | dispute resolution
If your partner has passed away, you may find yourself wondering what will happen to your living situation.  The answer really depends on a number of factors, including if the house was owned, by whom, and how. This blog considers some scenarios relating to owned property (not rented) and assumes 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...

Contentious Probate Claims: Who Pays The Costs?

March 7th 2023 | contested probate
It seems to be a common misconception that in contentious probate claims, all parties have their costs paid from the estate. This simply isn't correct. The matter of whose costs are paid and from where is a complex one, and will often vary case to case. Executors Executors should generally read more...

Can You Inherit The Estate Of Someone You Have Murdered?

January 25th 2023 | contested probate
In England and Wales the general rule is that your estate will go to whoever you wish if you have written a will or will pass under the terms of the Intestacy Act if you have not prepared a will. However there are exceptions to this. One of those exceptions 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...

How To Enforce A Judgment

December 20th 2022 | dispute resolution
If you’ve ever been a party to litigation, you may well know that trial often isn’t the end of the matter.  Say you have a debt claim where you have claimed £100,000 against the judgment debtor.  You have a trial, and the judge agrees that you are owed the money read more...

Is A Breach of Executors' Obligations A Crime?

December 12th 2022 | contested probate
I, for one, love a Daily Mail sensationalist headline, but as a lawyer often find the reporting of legal matters can seem misleading.  The recent article entitled “Brother and sister have their uncle JAILED for failing to hand over the £237,500 left to them in their grandmother's will” is a read more...

Who Is Liable In Business Email Fraud Cases?

December 2nd 2022 | dispute resolution
Email hacking or to give it its proper name business email compromise (‘BEC’), is unfortunately relatively common. The most common scenario is one of a phishing attack where criminals hack a business’s email, and contact their customers or suppliers pretending to be that business and asking them to make payments 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...

How Can I Contest A Will?

September 27th 2022 | contested probate
It is an unfortunate fact of life that a person’s death can often lead to disputes over their estate, and there are a number of challenges which might be made to a will.  From the extreme example of a forged, doctored, or fraudulent will, to one which is improperly signed, 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...

Put Up Or Shut Up: Dealing With Potential Will Validity Claims

June 9th 2022 | dispute resolution
The position for an executor where a person disputes the validity of a Will is extremely difficult. The job of the executor is to distribute the estate in accordance with the Will and in a reasonable timeframe, however if it is invalid, the estate may need to be distributed differently read more...

Business Succession Planning Breakfast Seminar and Networking

March 28th 2022 | social
Business succession planning is often enormously complex, particularly for small to medium, family or owner-managed businesses. If you are considering your next move, there are a number of factors to consider such as whether you want to sell (and how to do that), passing the business to the next generation 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 | dispute resolution
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...

Allan Janes Quiz: Round 1 Answers

June 4th 2020 | social
A big thank you to all those who participated in Round 1 of our quiz.  The answers are set out below.  Get ready for Round 2 tomorrow for more chances to win. Legal Stuff The Old Bailey. 3* – England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland;   * however, with 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...

Litigation Privilege: The Dangers of Discussing Litigation in Emails

October 22nd 2019 | dispute resolution
We have discussed before in a previous blog post the difficulties in maintaining privilege in documents produced for employment cases within a company. However, there is similar difficulties in maintaining litigation privilege in commercial disputes. But what is privilege? In order to understand privilege, you need to understand the process 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...

Countdown to Kop Hill

May 14th 2019 | social
For the fourth year in a row Allan Janes will be exhibiting at Kop Hill Climb.  The Kop Hill Climb, for those who were not familiar with it, is a fantastic family-friendly event which fundraises for the local community. It takes place in Princes Risborough every year in late September. 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 | dispute resolution
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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